Where the Heart Lies
by marieXcullen
Summary: Bella changed her entire image for Emmett. When she's given the responsibility of a lifetime, will her heart lie with her loyal boyfriend Emmett or Edward, the guy who has no limits and absolutely nothing to lose? Who will save her? Full summary inside...
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **Hi guys, sorry I took so long to come out with a new story. I started many stories but ended up deleting them because I didn't know where to go with them. I am totally making this one up as I go, so enjoy:)

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own Twilight or the characters, but Dr. Carlisle Cullen can own me in any way he wants.

**SUMMARY:** Bella changed her entire image for Emmett. Her dreams finally came true. Emmett, friends, popularity; she now has it all, but when she's given the responsibility of a lifetime, will her heart lie with her loyal boyfriend Emmett or Edward, the guy who has no limits and absolutely nothing to lose? Who will save her when her world falls apart?

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Bella's P.O.V

I was wandering around campus aimlessly, trying to find something to do. I stopped by the football field when I saw him. _Emmett McCarty._ The hottest guy in school and the star quarterback of the football team. Sadly also my ex boyfriend. I sighed and watched him dreamily. He pulled off his helmet and tossed it to the side. His thick, curly brown hair was matted to his forehead and he looked oh so sexy. I don't even know why I bother drooling over him. He's most likely over me by now.

He grabbed a water bottle and dumped it onto his head. I froze at the sight before me. He pulled off his uniform and before I knew it, he had stripped down to just his shorts. When he poured more water on his bare chest, I almost died. Can he get any sexier? I wanted to jump over the fence and go press myself against his body.

Earth to Bella, that's never going to happen. You might as well go back to being the geek that no one but Alice associated with. Emmett is the guy every girl wants. What makes you think he'll make the mistake of settling for you again? My conscience said to me. I sighed in disappointment and began my walk home. I pulled out my IPod and put it on shuffle. My walk home was filled with music and more thoughts of Emmett McCarty.

I know you're probably wondering what the hell I'm going on about, right? Well you see, Emmett used to be my boyfriend. I know, I'm not girlfriend material, especially not for Emmett, but I swear we used to have something special…well, special for me anyway. I actually thought he loved me for a while. I'll elaborate… You're in for one hell of a story. This is how it all started.

.: Flashback :.

I tried to ignore all the whispers and snickers as I made my way across campus. At school I was a big nobody. I was the loser that the snobby girls picked on and the one the stuck up jocks laughed at. My life is basically pathetic. I'm practically a loner. The only friend I have is Alice Brandon; she's my other half. We could even be sisters. I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn't notice someone standing directly in front of me and I ran right into the person.

"Hey watch where the fuck you're going!" The voice of an angry male sounded. I looked up and glared at Edward for a second. I then looked over and saw the most gorgeous guy I had ever had the privilege to lay eyes on. He was tall and very muscular with short and curly brown hair. The thing that captured me the most was his bright ice blue eyes. I stuttered for a second before I heard the very annoying voice of Edward Cullen.

"What the fuck are you standing around for? You ran into me and made me drop my shit, so pick my stuff up and apologize." He said in an angry voice. I rolled my eyes and flipped him off. Edward and I both harbor a mutual hate for each other. He talks shit and gives me hell, so I piss him off and give him hell.

"Fuck you Cullen." I said angrilly and walked away. The handsome guy next to Edward burst into laughter, his deep voice booming down the halls. Edward hissed as I ignored him and walked away. I turned around and stole one last glance at the handsome blue eyed stranger standing next to a very pissed off Edward, before running off to the parking lot and walking home with Alice.

When we got home, there was a note on the fridge from Charlie.

Bella,

I'm down at La Push with Billy and Jacob. Don't worry about dinner for tonight, I'll eat with Billy. Don't wait up for me, I might not get home until tomorrow morning.

Love,

Dad.

"Bella, please, I really want to crash that bitch's party!" Alice whined. Rosalie Hale was throwing a party at her boyfriend Edward's house and as usual, we weren't invited. I honestly have no idea why Alice wants to go to that stupid party anyway. I rolled my eyes and she laughed excitedly.

"Fine Alice, we can go, but only for a little bit." I said in a stern voice. She squealed and hugged me. We sat in my living room and watched tv for a while. I pulled a frozen pizza out of the freezer and put in the oven to cook. Alice shot out of her seat and headed straight for the oven when the buzzer went off. As soon as I pulled out the pizza, she tore of a slice and began eating.

"Calm down Alice. Let the pizza cool down, there's more than enough for the both of us." I said and she smiled.

"Bella you have to hurry up and eat, we have to go shower and do our make up for the party." She replied.

We finished the pizza then went up to my room and looked through my closet. Alice reached into the back of the closet and pulled out two identical dresses, one red and one black. My jaw dropped to the floor. The dresses were cute but they were _very_ short and looked _very_ expensive.

"Alice where the hell did you get those dresses?" I asked a bit alarmed. I didn't know those were in my closet. Alice smiled and batted her lashes.

"I bought them a while ago." She said with an innocent smile.

"What? Why?" I practically shrieked.

"Because I knew Rosalie would throw a party soon and I knew we would need hot dresses." She said and pulled out two boxes of shoes from under my bed.

"So you had to hide all this in my room?" I asked, lightening up a bit.

"Bella, my mother would kill me if she found dresses this short in my closet." She said with a wink.

"What if Charlie had found them?" I pressed.

"Charlie never goes through your stuff, so I figured they would be safer here. Now come on, we have to get ready." She said with a big smile.

"Alice we can't wear those dresses, they are _way_ too short." I complained.

"Bella, we have too. How will Jasper ever notice me if I don't look hot?" She asked with a sad face. Alice had been in love with Jasper Hale since middle school, but she'd never asked him out. I let out a big sigh.

"Only because I love you." I said and Alice jumped into my arms.

"Bella, I will eternally owe you after this." Alice said and kissed my cheek repeatedly. I took a quick 5 minute shower and washed my hair while Alice heated up the straightener and the curling iron. When I finished, Alice hopped in the shower while I dried off and took the dresses off the hangers.

After Alice dried off, we sprayed ourselves down in perfume and body glitter. Alice blow dried my hair and curled it, and then she did my makeup. I straightened her hair while she did her makeup. After hair and makeup, we moved on to wardrobe. We slipped into our dresses and strapped on our heels. I was a bit scared of walking in heels, but these ones were cute and not very high.

We went over to my full length mirror and checked ourselves out. Alice looked more beautiful than usual, if that was even possible. For once in my life I actually looked and felt pretty. Hell, we looked hot. I could barely recognize the girl in the mirror staring back at me. I squealed and hugged Alice.

"Thank you so much! We look freaking hot!" I shouted and she jumped around with me.

"While I try and get things going with Jasper, you try and get things going with someone. It's about time we find ourselves boyfriends Bella." Alice said and handed me a red clutch. She grabbed her matching black clutch and led me downstairs.

"Bella, we have to talk." She said as she sat down and patted the spot on the couch next to her. I took a seat and waited for her to continue. "Rosalie and her girls throw the best parties, get the hottest guys, and most importantly, run the school." Alice said and I nodded.

"Yeah, I know." I responded glumly. Why don't you just throw salt in the wounds while you're ait it Alice, I though.

"Rosalie and Tanya are the queen bees and it's about time someone took their crowns and their thrones." Alice said with a determined grin. I don't like where this is going.

"And who exactly is that someone Alice?" I asked slowly.

Alice smiled and rubbed her tiny hands together. "Us." She said. Okay I _really_ don't like where this is going. For a second I could almost see an evil glint of fire in Alice's eyes. I swallowed and shook my head.

"No Alice. Why can't we just go to the party and content ourselves with that?" I asked.

"Because Bella. You and I are just as pretty as those girls; we can have just as much confidence as them if we wanted to. I don't want to remember our high school years as miserable ones Bella. I want us to have fun, I want us to be invited to parties, I want us to be able to go to the football and baseball games and not be laughed at, I want us to be able to flirt and pick up boys." Alice ranted. Her speech was really getting to me. "We should be at the top, hell; we should be above Tanya and Rosalie for crying out loud. What do those girls have that we don't?" She raised her voice.

"How exactly do you plan for us to get to the top?" I asked.

"First we go to this party, then we work our way up. Rosalie and Tanya won't know what hit them." Alice said with an adorable smile. Part of me was really looking forward to this. After our chat, I locked up the house and we made our way to Edward's house.

There were cars parked down the entire block and we could hear the thunderous music from the house. Alice grabbed on to my hand as we made it up the driveway. "Alice there is a man at the front door asking for names and invitations. How the hell are we going to get in?" I asked. I was starting to panic.

"Don't worry, we'll be fine." She said reassuringly.

"Name?" The man asked.

"Alice Cullen and Bella Swan." Alice responded.

"You're not on the list." The man said rudely.

"I know we're not on the list, now let us through." Alice snapped.

"No name equals no party." The man said and turned to talk to the other people trying to get in.

"We're not leaving, so you might as well let us in." Alice said.

"Listen, as much as I would love to let you beautiful ladies in, I can't." The man said apologetically.

"Just let us in damn it!" Alice whined.

"Is there a problem?" a beautiful voice asked. We turned around and saw Jasper Hale standing there looking more beautiful than usual.

"Yeah, we can't get in, because _somebody_ won't let us through." Alice said and glared at the guard.

"They're not on the list." The guard said to Jasper.

"Put them on the list, they're with me." Jasper said with a big smile and slipped his right arm around Alice's waist and his right one around mine. Alice giggled and winked at me as Jasper escorted us into the house. I felt hundreds of eyes on me and my face burned up.

"I'm going to go grab some water." I said, trying to give Alice some alone time with Jasper. Lots of guys stared as I made my way to the kitchen. I ignored all the looks and got a soda, then went upstairs to have a look around. I know I shouldn't go snooping around, but I might as well, since I am in Edward's house and all. This opportunity doesn't come around very often.

I walked straight up to the third floor and opened the first door on my right. It was a very big bathroom. I closed it quietly and moved on to the next door. It was an office. I figured it must be Edward's dad's study. I walked past a few door and opened the one at the very end of the hall.

There was very little light in the room, but from what I could tell, it was a guy's bedroom. There were posters of football players, baseball players and a few soccer players. I walked in further and silently closed the door behind me. The whole front wall of the room was replaced with glass. There were a couple bookcases, music shelves, and a huge plasma TV on the far right wall, with a massive collection of movies piled right under it.

There was a huge bed with black and gold satin sheets and comforters right across from the TV. I walked over to the tv and looked through the movies. Just as I was walking over to the bookcase, the door to what must have been the bathroom opened and a guy walked out.

I immediately recognized him as the handsome blue eyed stranger that was with Edward earlier at school. Shit. He was wearing nothing but the towel around his waist. I didn't think he noticed me until he turned to look at me. "Hey." He said with the sexiest voice, accompanied with the sexiest grin I had ever seen in my life.

My mind was racing. I couldn't think of anything to say so I made my way towards the door. Just as quickly as I pulled the door open, he pushed it shut. "You don't have to leave you know. You can stay if you want." He said with a perfect smile.

I looked around for a bit, then went over to his bed to take a seat. He walked back into the bathroom, then emerged a few minutes later, fully clothed. "What's your name?" he asked as he reached under his bed and pulled out a laptop.

"Um, it's Bella." I said nervously.

"Well, it's nice to meet you Bella. I'm Emmett." He said and stuck his hand out for me to shake. I stared at his hand for a bit before I reached over and shook it. After I released his hand, he focused his attention back to his laptop.

"You uhh…have a lot of movies." I practically stuttered.

He smiled and nodded. "I like to stay home and watch tv a lot, so I just buy all kinds of movies." He said as he pushed his laptop to the side. "I remember you from earlier." He said and I blushed.

"You probably have the wrong person." I said, playing dumb.

"No, you're definitely the right person. You practically told Edward to piss off earlier at school." He said with a laugh, and I blushed even more. "You umm… You look great tonight." Emmett said with a cute dimpled smile. I turned as red as a freaking tomato.

"Thanks." I mumbled.

"Do you want a beer?" He asked, motioning for us to head downstairs.

"No thanks, I don't drink." I said casually.

He quirked his eyebrow and gave me a weird look. "Come on, It'll be fun." He said and held my hand in his own. Just one innocent touch from him ignited a fire in me. My whole body felt as if it were burning in blistering red flames.

"Okay, but just one beer." I said calmly. He gave me a big goofy grin and led me down to the kitchen. He wrapped his big arms around my waist and lifted me onto the counter. After opening his beer, he took two big gulps and handed it to me. I couldn't believe I was about to drink from the same bottle he had.

The second the beer hit my tongue, I spit it out. "Ewwww, this tastes like cat piss!" I said and wiped my tongue with the palm of my hand. Emmett laughed and reached for a bottle of Vodka. He poured some into a shot glass and handed it to me.

"Down this real fast and you won't taste the beer at all." He said as I sniffed the Vodka. "It'll burn your throat at first, but it'll feel good soon after." He said with a reassuring smile. Why the hell am I listening to him? I bet if he asked me to go jump off a cliff, I would consider doing it.

I pinched my nose and downed the vile liquid. My throat was on fire. It felt as if someone was scraping the inside of my throat with a hot Iron. I began to feel dizzy and shut my eyes. When I opened them, Emmett was right in front of me with an apologetic look on his face. "You okay?" He asked sweetly.

"Never better." I lied. He saw right through me and began laughing. He helped me off the counter and led me towards the living room.

"Come on, let's dance." He whispered in my ear.

I immediately stopped walking and tried to yank my hand out of his grip. "I can't dance at all." I said, almost hysterically. "Me dancing will result in an embarrassing evening." I said and he smiled. He ignored my protests and dragged me into the middle of the crowd on the dance floor. He put his hands on my shoulders and let them slide down to my hips.

He slowly began to move to the beat of the music. Before long, the alcohol had kicked in and I was swaying along with him. I pressed myself impossibly closer to him and ground my hips into his. Emmett grabbed my thighs and pulled me harder against him. I squealed in delight when I felt his erection. I couldn't believe that _I_ had done that to _him_.

After dancing to a few songs, Emmett took me back to the kitchen and sat me on the counter. He stood in between my legs and pulled me closer to him. His strong hands slowly slid up my dress and began to rub my thighs. I didn't think it was possible to get as wet as I was in that moment.

He leaned in and kissed my neck. He sucked on the sensitive flesh below my jaw and I moaned in pleasure. All of the sudden, we were yanked out of our trance by Rosalie and Tanya. "What the hell do you think you're doing here?" Rosalie shrieked.

"You were so not invited." Tanya said with a deadly glare. Oh if only looks could kill….I would probably be on the floor writhing in pain and begging for mercy. I didn't know how to respond. I mean what am I supposed to say; 'I hate you two skanks so I totally crashed your party'? Not likely.

"I invited her." Emmett said and continued his attack on my neck.

"Well she's now officially uninvited!" Rosalie yelled.

"Shut up Rose." Emmett said and led me out to the front. At first I thought he was kicking me out, but he put his arm around me and we walked to the park that was a few blocks down. When we reached the park, he sat on the slide and pulled me into his lap.

"Where are you from Bella?" He asked.

"Phoenix." I said, remembering how warm it was back home, how the sidewalk would burn my feet on hot summer days. He smiled and rubbed my cheek with his thumb.

"Do you like it here in Forks?" He asked.

"This town sucks, but I can't complain." I replied. "At first I hated my mom for sending me here, but after I befriended Alice, everything became worth it. Even though I personally hate Edward's guts because he makes me so damn miserable, I can bear it with Alice by my side." I said honestly.

"So she's your partner in crime huh?" He asked jokingly.

"Yup." I replied.

"Where is she?" He asked curiously.

"Last I saw her, she was with this guy she really likes; Jasper." I said and Emmett smiled.

"He's a friend of mine you know." He said and moved us over to the grass so we were facing each other.

I yawned a little and stretched out my legs. My feet were killing me. "Stupid heels." I grumbled to myself and Emmett smiled. He reached for my feet and removed my heels. Thank god Alice had given me a pedicure a few days ago; otherwise I would have been screwed.

He held my right foot and began to rub it in a slow circular motion. Oh god, that felt amazing. If feet could orgasm, mine would be doing so right now. Soon after, he switched to my right foot. Tonight was the best night of my life. Although Emmett would most likely never speak to me again after today, I was soaring with joy.

We stayed out at the park for a couple more hours, talking about ourselves. Emmett had lost his parents in a fire and so he came to live with his cousin, _Edward. _At about 1 a.m. we headed back to the party so I could find Alice. Emmett gave me a piggyback ride the whole way.

As we reached the driveway, I noticed Alice and Jasper sitting on the porch, holding onto each other and talking. They looked so cute together. As soon as Emmett put me down, Alice hopped up and ran over to hug me. "Bella, I'm so sorry for leaving you to fend for yourself tonight." She said apologetically.

"It's fine Alice, I didn't mind." I said and motioned to Emmett without being too obvious.

"You better spill when we get home." She whispered and winked. "We better get home, in case Charlie comes back early." She said as I yawned.

"Okay." I agreed.

"I'll go say bye to Jasper." She said with a grin and walked off.

I turned to Emmett and smiled. "We have to head home; you know…in Case my dad comes home… he doesn't know we went out." I rambled. Emmett smiled and closed the distance between us. He wrapped me in a tight embrace held me for a while.

When he pulled away from the hug, he leaned down and planted a kiss on my lips. I gently kissed him back and before long, we were full on making out. It was the single most amazing kiss of my life. I felt as though time had stopped and we were the only ones not frozen.

He gently bit down on my bottom lip and sucked it into his mouth. I surrendered to him completely as he dominated our intense kiss. He had reignited the fire on my skin. When he finally pulled away, we were practically gasping for air. He planted another small kiss on my lips, and just like that, I was on cloud 9.

With one glance back at Emmett, I took Alice's hand and we went home. I couldn't wait to get home and tell her about everything. Man, life can be good.

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A/N: Hope you liked it. Like I said before, I'm making this up as I go, so please bear with me. Constructive criticism is always welcome. Review and get a cookie :)


	2. Chapter 2

*** Chapter 2 ***

A/N: Here is the next chapter :) Sorry I took a while to get it out, I had to rewrite it like 5 times. There are pictures of the party dresses and accessories for this story on my profile…Check them out…Enjoy:)

_**DISCLAIMER:**__ I DO NOT OWN TWILIGHT (BUT) DR. CULLEN CAN OWN ME ANYTIME  
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The wind had picked up as Alice and I walked home. When we got to my house, we set up pillows and blankets in the living room, then went upstairs to change into t-shirts and sweats. We cleaned the makeup off our faces and went down to eat and talk.

"So…what happened with you and Jasper?" I asked nonchalantly.

Alice's face lit up and her eyes twinkled. "Bella, everything was absolutely perfect. Right after you left, Jasper asked me to dance. It was so fun. After dancing, he grabbed us some beers and we sat on the porch, talking and holding hands. Bella, when he kissed me, the entire world froze. All I could see, hear and feel was Jasper." She said with a dreamy gaze.

Alice and I were such hopeless romantics. She sighed and smiled at me. "Who was the cutie you were with?" She asked, still smiling. I felt my face heat up as I thought of Emmett

"His name's Emmett." I said with a big smile. "I saw him at school earlier today when I ran into _Edward_."

"How'd you guys hook up? I want details." She said shamelessly.

"Well, you know how nosy I am. I was snooping around Edward's house. I walked up to the third floor and opened random doors. I walked into one of the rooms and while I was checking out the movies, Emmett walked out of the bathroom with just a towel around his waist. At first I thought he didn't see me but then he started talking to me. I was about to walk out when he asked me to stay. We talked, had a few beers, made out and went to the park to talk some more after Tanya and Rosalie threw fits." I said and Alice squealed.

"Bella, I see boyfriends coming our way." Alice said with a big grin. Even though I knew I had no chance with Emmett, I couldn't help but smile. "How should we proceed with plan: T.O.T.A.R." Alice said and I laughed.

"Plan T.O.T.A.R?" I asked and Alice nodded.

"Yeah, T.O.T.A.R…._**T**_ake _**O**_ut _**T**_anya _**A**_nd _**R**_osalie." She said with an innocent smile.

"Oh, I don't really know." I said, a bit unsure.

"Oh come on Bella. How would you run this if it was your operation?" She asked and looked at me expectantly.

I hesitated a bit before answering her. "We could work on appearance and we could try to be more social, I guess." I said, still unsure.

"Good answer. I feel a shopping spree coming on." Alice said and waggled her eyebrows. "How much money do we have?" Alice asked as she looked in the cabinet under the coffee table for the shoebox where we kept our money. Ever since we became friends, we've each been putting away some money every week (not including our paychecks from working part time at the diner). We had quite a bit of cash now. When she found the box, she handed it to me.

"Let's make a checklist then we can count how much we have." She said, grabbing a pen and paper from my desk. "Ok first thing we have to work on is appearance, second, we need to be more social, third, we have to help you build up more confidence." Alice said as she wrote.

"Alice, maybe we shouldn't do this after all. It might blow up in our faces and I don't want to take part in any of this, really." I said and Alice glared at me.

"You don't have to take part in this if you don't want to, but this is my chance to snag Jasper while he's still single, and I'm not going to throw it away just because you don't want to help." She said slammed down the pen and paper. She laid down and pulled the covers over her head.

Now I felt really bad. The last thing I want is for Alice to think that I'm not a reliable friend or that I don't want her and Jasper to get together. Why can't I toughen up for once and back her up? Grrr I frustrate myself.

I grabbed a glass of water and took 3 Advils for the major hangover I knew I would have in the morning. After stretching my poor aching limbs, I went to sleep and hoped that tomorrow wouldn't come too soon.

--

I opened my eyes to the harsh sunlight streaming in through the window. I got up and walked to the kitchen tiredly. There was a note on the fridge from Charlie.

Bells,

Off to work. Didn't want to wake you and Alice.  
Call me if you need anything.

Dad.

I went to the bathroom to brush my teeth and wash my face, then I headed back to the kitchen and made breakfast for me and Alice. I made a big breakfast consisting of scrambled eggs, bacon, pancakes, sausages, freshly squeezed orange juice and steaming hot coffee. I may be going a bit over the top, but its okay.

Alice could be friends with other people who aren't social disgraces but she settles for me, and for that I'm thankful. I also appreciate the fact that she wants to help me get more confident so I can at least have a better shot at Emmett than I had before. I should be a better friend and help her with her plan. And plus a bit of popularity and a little boost in confidence never hurt anyone. I could certainly use a makeover.

Alice walked into the kitchen looking tired and rubbing her eyes. "Hi." She said, looking a bit sad. "Bella, I'm so sorry for exaggerating last night. I shouldn't have yelled at you. You're my best friend and I love you." She said and held her arms wide open for a hug.

I smiled and hugged her. "I'm sorry too Ally. There's nothing wrong with wanting to look good and kicking our status up a few notches." I said and her face brightened up.

"Really?" She asked.

"Yeah. Plan _**T.O.T.A.R**_ is _so _back on." I said with a huge smile.

"We are gonna hit them where it hurts the most. By the time they realize what hit them, they'll be on the floor gasping for air." Alice said excitedly.

"Go brush your teeth and come eat. We have to be at work in 45 minutes." I said and she ran to the bathroom. After breakfast, we showered, and then went to the diner. When Alice and I became friends, we thought it would be cool to get jobs so we both applied at "Julie's Kitchen".

Julie's Kitchen is the best diner in town. The place is hospitable and the food is never made in advance. We don't cook anything until it's been ordered. When we walked into the diner, we were greeted by Sean and Jim, the two cooks. "Grab the aprons, and I'll get the skates." Alice said as she walked into the back room. I grabbed our aprons and nametags and joined Alice in the back room.

We changed into our uniforms and put on our skates, then went out to disinfect the tables and the counters. "Hey guys." I said to Jim and Sean. "Where's Jena?" I asked. Jena, the other waitress always got here before Alice and I did. Alice didn't like her very much, and she didn't hide her hatred for Jena at all.

"She called in sick this morning." Jim said.

"Yup. I guess it's just us today." Sean called from the kitchen.

"Alright, that works for me. Alice will be happy." I said and Jim chuckled. Alice put syrup, sugar, cream and salt on each table as I went to flip the "closed" sign to "open." I grabbed napkins and set them on each table.

"Jena isn't here. She's sick so it's just you, me, Jim and Sean." I said and Alice smiled.

"Oh thank god. Do you know how long I've been waiting for this day to come? We can do whatever we want, when we want, without getting bitched at by that airhead." Alice said with a big smile. I giggled and she rolled her eyes.

"Oooh, guess what. I got an e-mail from grams this morning." Alice said, beaming. Grams is Alice's grandma. I love grams, she's always so nice to us. Alice invited me to go visit her grandparents with her two summers ago. Her grandma and grandpa are loaded. Their house is a freaking mansion near the beach in Florida. Anyway, grams sends us money every couple of months, along with kind email.

"How is she?" I asked.

"She's great. She asked about you and how you were doing. She wants us to go visit her next week." Alice said and I got excited

"I'll have to really convince Charlie to let me go, because we have school next week." I said. I honestly have a lot of sucking up to do if I expect Charlie to let me go to Florida. Just as Alice opened her mouth to speak, a lady and her son walked in and went to sit at table 8.

"Hold that thought, Alice." I said and skated over to table 8. I placed a menu in front of the lady and handed one to her son. "Hi, my name is Bella, and I'll be your waitress today. Would you like some time or are you ready to order?" I asked as I pulled out my notepad and my pencil.

"I'll have two cheese omelets, two sausages and a coffee please." The woman said with a smile and handed me the menu. "What do you want Tommy?" She asked her son as I wrote down her order. The boy looked up at me and smiled. "Can I have French toast and pancakes and orange juice?" He asked cutely.

"You sure can handsome." I said with a wink and he blushed. "If your breakfast isn't ready in ten minutes, it's on the house (it's free)." I said and set the timer. I rushed over to the kitchen window and yelled, "Jim, I need two cheese omelets along with two sausages. Sean, I need an order of French toast and some pancakes. Throw some butter and raspberries on those pancakes hun. Time's up in 8 minute, better hurry."

While Jim and Sean got busy, went over to the side counter and got to work on the coffee and orange juice. I took the juice and coffee to the table and Tommy clapped. "That was fast." He said as he sipped his juice.

"Order up!" Jim yelled from the kitchen as two guys and a girl entered the diner. I skated over to the kitchen window to get the food, and then juggled all four plates back to the table. I dropped the food off with 3 minutes and 25 seconds to spare. God I love my job.

"Well darling that was one heck of a show." The lady said with a smile and her son nodded in agreement. I smiled and nodded.

"All in a day's work." I said and left them to eat their breakfast. While Alice was getting orders from the girl and the two guys, I went to get orders from two of our regulars, who had just walked in. "Hey Janice, hi Brad, what can I get you two?" I asked as Janice hugged me.

"We'll have the usual bella." Brad said and I nodded. After Tommy's mom (Alexa) paid for the meal, Tommy handed me a 3 dollar tip. The day passed by eventfully. Seeing as it was a Saturday, we were up to our heads in customers. With only two waitresses, and hundreds of people passing through, Alice and I had our hands full.

Things started to slow down a bit at around 11:45 am, so Alice and I took our breaks. "Holy crap, look at all the money I made in tips." Alice said motioning to the pockets on her apron. I smiled and checked my apron. I had made quite a few tips myself.

"I kinda like not having Jena around, constantly breathing down our necks." I said a bit shamefully. It's not like me to talk bad about Jena, but I could definitely see the perks of not having her around so much. Alice laughed.

"Maybe she should get sick more often." Alice said and I playfully shoved her.

"Mary Alice Brandon! Have you no shame? You know better than wishing misfortune upon others." I said playfully and we burst into laughter. The bell on the door rang, alerting us to more customers. I looked up and was shocked beyond belief. My heart nearly jumped out of my chest.

I squeaked and Alice gave me a confused look. She followed my gaze and her jaw dropped. Jasper and Emmett walked in; unfortunately, Edward was trailing right behind them. Alice held my hand and squeezed until I couldn't feel it. She then turned to me and smiled.

"We have to be cool and collected. We have to act like them being here is doesn't faze us in any way, shape or form. Just treat them like regular customers." She said and I nodded. Okay bella, you can do this, I mentally cheered myself on. We skated over to the table where they sat and smiled.

"I'm Alice and this is Bella and we'll be your waitresses today. Is there anything we can get you?" Alice asked. Thank god she did all the talking. If I had even opened my mouth, I would have probably made a fool of myself.

Jasper smiled and looked up at Alice. "Alice, I'll have a coffee and some waffles." He said and Alice wrote it down.

"I'll be right back with your order." Alice said and winked at me as she skated away. Holy shit, she was leaving me to take Emmett's order alone. I took a few breaths and smiled.

"What can I get you Emmett?" I asked and he smiled.

"You remembered my name." He said, sounding a bit surprised. Although why he would be surprised that I know his name is beyond me. I smiled and nodded. "I'll have two cheeseburgers, a coke, and for dessert, I'd like a side order of chocolate covered Bella.." He said and winked.

I nearly had a heart attack. Did he just hit on me? I know he kissed me last night, but that was because I actually looked nice with the makeup and cute dress, or so I thought. Maybe he does like me…get real Bella.

Edward looked as if he would throw up at any moment. He totally ruined the moment with his rudeness. "Well, if you're done making me gag swan, you can get me four pancakes and a sprite." He said and glared at me. The customer is always right, the customer is always right, the customer is always right I chanted in my head in hopes of keeping my cool. "Hurry it up." He snapped.

Emmett frowned and turned to say something to Edward, but I snapped. "Up yours Cullen." I said. I flipped him the bird, then skated off towards the kitchen window to place in the orders. I knew Edward hated Dr. Pepper, so instead of getting his sprite, I got him a tall glass of Dr. Pepper.

"What the hell Swan? I can't drink this." Edward snarled.

"I'm sorry. I wish I could help, but we have a strict no refill policy. If you'd like to pay for a new drink, then I can gladly get you another one." I said with a big smile. Edward growled and stabbed his pancakes.

I went off to help other customers for a bit, then came back to see if Emmett needed anything else. I couldn't believe how happy I was around him. "Can I get you anything else?" I asked Emmett and Jasper.

"Would you be a doll and get me a refill?" Jasper asked.

"Me too." Emmett said with his mouth full.

Alice grabbed Jasper's cup and I grabbed Emmett's. "Sure thing, we'll be right back." I said and we went to get their drinks. When we got back, Edward was steaming like hot corn.

"What the fuck happened to your no refill policy?" Edward snapped.

"There are kids sitting just a few tables away, so watch your mouth." I said.

"Yeah, or you'll be out on your ass." Alice threw in, then skated away. The guys paid for their food, while Alice and I cleared the table. Jasper hugged Alice sideways and tipped her a ten. He handed me a ten too before heading towards the exit.

Emmett leaned over and bit my ear and slipped me a ten, then gave Alice a ten, before heading out. Edward gave Alice a five and completely ignored me as he walked out. Wow. I couldn't believe what had just happened. Emmett was actually here…talking to me. Cue the drool.

Not only Emmett came in and flirted with me, but I had the guts to talk to him; actually talk to him. Talking to him had been easier at the party because I was hiding behind makeup and a sexy dress. But for me to talk to him with no sexy dress and no makeup on was just flat out amazing. Especially because he didn't seem to care that my hair was in a ugly and sloppy ponytail.

The chances of Emmett actually liking me are slim to none, but as of right now, I'm willing to put my heart on the line to increase those chances. I turned to Alice with a determined look. "How soon after work can we get to the mall?" I asked and she did a double take.

"Wait, you actually _want_ to go to the mall?" she asked skeptically.

"Yeah, I finally realized that I don't have all the time in the world. I'm only going to live once, so if I want Emmett to be my boyfriend, I need to make my move ASAP (**a**s **s**oon **a**s **p**ossible)." I said and Alice's eyes began to water.

"Oh Bella, you don't know how proud you've just made me. If we leave at 3:50, we can catch the 4:15 bus and get to the mall by 4:40." She said.

"Okay, sounds great. We should probably leave a bit earlier so that we can drop by my house and get our money." I suggested.

"Actually Bella, why don't we save our shopping trip for when we're down in Florida? They have better shops down there anyways." She said and I nodded in agreement. That makes sense.

"Alright, but what if Charlie won't let me go?" I asked, a bit worried about missing out on Florida. It would totally suck balls if I couldn't go.

"Don't worry; I have a strong gut feeling that he'll say yes." She responded with a smile. Never doubt Alice. More people came in and out as the day went on. At about 7:30, just before closing time, Rosalie and Tanya marched into the diner looking very pissed off.

"I don't know where you two sluts get off thinking you can just show up and crash my party, then attempting to snatch my brother and his best friend." Rosalie spat, glaring at me and Alice.

"Whatever is going on in that little head of yours needs to stop. Emmett is mine, so you stay the fuck away from him." Tanya hissed at me.

Just then, Jim and Sean came out to see what the hell was going on.

"You two ladies have to leave, right now." Sean said and Rosalie growled at him.

"Watch your fucking backs." Rosalie hissed before she and Tanya stormed out to their car and sped away. Sean turned to me and Alice and raised an eyebrow.

"Did they threaten you?" He asked us.

"Just a bit, but don't worry about it." Alice replied and I nodded in agreement.

"Well, we're going to look out for you guys, just in case." Jim said as he headed back to the kitchen. After we finished cleaning up, we all hung our aprons, then closed up for the night. We walked back to my house, and Charlie took Alice home.

While he was gone, I took the liberty to cook dinner, wash the dishes and clean the kitchen. When I heard Charlie pull up the driveway, I set up the food in front of the tv and put on the game. Charlie was surprised at first, but later sat down and enjoyed his food.

"Dad, can we talk about something?" I asked. I was nervous and scared that Charlie wouldn't let me go to Florida.

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A/N: I hope you enjoyed it. The next chapter should be up soon. I would like to update 3 times a week, but I don't know how that will work. Leave a review :)


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Sorry it took so long to get this out…I've been busy…Anyway, enjoy!

**DISCLAIMER:**_ I don't own Twilight. Hmmm Cullen boys- because they don't make men like that anymore._

*** * * * * * * ***

"Dad, can we talk about something?" I asked. I was nervous and scared that Charlie wouldn't let me go to Florida. He gave me a look that clearly said 'Is this a girl talk? Because if it is, I can't guarantee much.'

"What is it? Did something happen?" Charlie asked seriously.

"No, nothing really happened. Alice got a letter from grams." I said and he lightened up a bit.

"Oh. How is she?" He asked, taking a bite of food.

"She's great. She actually suggested that Alice and I go visit again." I said and Charlie smiled. I never knew my grandparents and so he knew how much I adored Alice's grandparents.

"That's awfully nice of her." He said and turned his attention to the game for a few seconds.

"She wants us to go see her next week." I blurted out. He blinked a couple times and sighed.

"Bells, you have school next week and--" he began but I cut him off.

"I have excellent grades dad. I turn all my work in on time and I never miss school. I promise if you let me go, I'll get the work done while I'm at grams' and have it turned in the second we get back." I pleaded. He looked very skeptical so I unleashed my secret weapon of mass destruction: the sad puppy dog eyes I knew Charlie couldn't resist. I've used this on him and Renee since I was three and it didn't fail me now.

"Alright, but if your work isn't done by the time you get back, you will be on permanent house arrest." He said and gave me the 'I'm serious' look. I bounced over to the seat next to him and hugged him. "How much is this trip going to cost me?" He asked.

"Nothing. Alice's Uncle Eleazar is a pilot and he can get us free tickets remember?" I said and Charlie looked relieved. "Plus, Alice and I have been saving up for some time now. Speaking of Alice, I have to call her and tell her the good news." I said and turned to walk up the stairs.

Right when I reached the stairs, I turned around and went back to the living room. "Thanks dad, I love you." I said and hugged him again. I knew that he must have been as red as I was. We aren't very good with expressing our emotions.

"I love you too Bells." He replied. I kissed his cheek and said goodnight. I called Alice as soon as I got to my room. "He said yes!" I squealed when Alice answered.

"Who said yes?" She asked, confused. She sounded really tired.

"Alice, were you sleeping?" I asked, hoping I hadn't disturbed her.

"Yeah, but it's no big deal Bella." She said and yawned.

"I'm sorry for waking you up Ally. I just wanted you to know that Charlie is letting me go." I said and she squealed, no longer sounding tired.

"Are you serious?" she practically yelled into the phone.

"Yeah."

"We are going to have so much fun Bella." She sounded so excited. "You should bring a bag of clothes to my house tomorrow, so we can pack together. I'm so excited! I'll talk to uncle Eleazar and get our plane tickets." She said.

"So I'll catch a ride with Charlie and be at your house bright and early tomorrow morning." I said.

"Excellent. See you then, goodnight." She said as I yawned.

"Goodnight Ally." I said and hung up the phone. I sent Charlie a quick text asking him to wake me up when he finished showering in the morning and went to sleep.

--

I felt someone shake me lightly as I slowly regained consciousness. When my blurry eyesight cleared up, I saw Charlie standing over me. "You asked me to wake you up once I finished up in the shower." He explained when he saw my confusion. My still sleepy brain slowly began comprehending what was going on.

I _had_ asked Charlie to wake me up. I'm supposed to go to Alice's house this morning and pack with her. I nodded and Charlie gave me a small smile. "I'll miss you while you're gone kiddo." He said with sad eyes. This coming from Charlie meant a lot, because I knew how uncomfortable he felt with sharing his feelings or emotions.

"I'll miss you too dad. Go down to La Push with Billy and Harry and catch me a big fish." I said and he chuckled. "I will." He said with a smile. I liked the fact that I could make Charlie smile a genuine smile when he was feeling down.

"You should stop by in Jacksonville while you're in Florida. I know that your mom would love it if you surprised her. She'd be real happy." He said with a light smile. It's very nice that Charlie still looks out for Renee. Seeing Renee again sounds like a very good idea. I've really missed her.

Ever since Phil got promoted to pro ball from minor league, Renee has been a lot busier. She calls me as much as she can, but seeing her in person will be great. "Yeah dad, that'd be real great. I can't wait to see her." I said and he nodded. "Will you drop me off at Alice's on your way to work please?" I asked and he nodded again.

"Sure." He said and walked out. I hopped in the shower and turned the water to hot. I quickly shaved, washed my hair, and washed off. After drying off, I slipped into a pair of dark jeans and a red polo shirt and pulled my hair into a ponytail. I then picked out some clothes and shoes to take to Alice's with me.

When I got downstairs, Charlie handed me two warm s'mores pop tarts and a glass of orange juice, then took my bag out to the cruiser with him. I ate as fast as I could, then grabbed Charlie's jacket and ran out to the car. "I'll call the school and excuse you while you're gone. Make sure you and Alice pick up all your missing assignments when you get back. I figured you can catch up when you get back." He said as he put on his jacket.

I smiled and stood up straight. "Yes sir." I said and did an army salute. Charlie chuckled and shook his head. "You want to drive?" He asked and jingled the car keys. I was actually a bit surprised that he wanted to let me drive. Don't get me wrong, I know how to drive and I have my license, it's just that I never thought he would let me take the cruiser out for a spin.

"Sure." I said, not able to contain my smile. He tossed me the keys and I shook with excitement. I hopped into the driver's seat started the car as Charlie walked around to the passenger side and got in. We put on our seatbelts and I pulled out of the driveway.

As I stopped at the stoplight by the high school I noticed Edward and some of his friends on their skateboards. Unfortunately, Edward saw me too and flipped me off when Charlie wasn't looking. I flipped on the sirens and turned on the microphone. "Fuck you Cullen." I said into the microphone and drove off when the light went green. Edward's expression was priceless.

I was about to apologize to Charlie for swearing around him but he shook his head. "I don't _even_ want to know." He said and I smiled. As soon as I passed the school zone, I sped up to 75 mph. When I looked over at Charlie, he was giving me a disapproving look. "Bella, the speed limit in this zone is 40 mph." he said and I gave him an innocent smile. He sighed and smiled as I slowed down a bit.

I picked up more speed as I turned into the single road stretching out into the woods. Charlie eyed the needle on the speedometer with fear as it climbed up to 85, then 90 mph. He rubbed his forehead and tightened his seatbelt. As we neared Alice's house, I sped up some more, turned on the sirens and took a sharp turn into her driveway.

The cruiser came to a screeching halt and left dust all over the driveway. "Alice Brandon, come out with your hands up. We have the house surrounded. Put your hands up and come out slowly." I said into the microphone. Through all the dust I saw Alice run out of her house and jump up and down on the porch, as she clapped her tiny hands.

As soon as Charlie was sure he was safe, he leapt out of the car and Alice attached herself to him. She hugged him so tight, he almost fell over. Alice's mom Esme walked out of the house and hugged me as soon as I got out of the car. "How are you Bella?" She asked and kissed my forehead. "I'm great, Esme. Charlie let me drive here; it was fun." I said and she smiled a warm smile. "That's wonderful darling." She said and let me go so that she could hug Charlie.

"How are you Charlie?" Esme asked and hugged him tight.

"I'm fine and you?" He replied and she smiled.

"I'm great. The girls' flight is scheduled for 2:45 pm." She said and led us into the house. Alice jumped onto my back and I gave her a piggyback ride into the house. "Bella, I'm so happy." She said and kissed my cheek.

"Me too, honey." I replied and walked into the living room. Carlisle was putting on his coat and getting ready to leave for work. "Bella, Charlie, How are you." Carlisle said and kissed my cheek, then shook Charlie's hand.

"Bella's fine now dad." Alice said and winked at me and Esme. My whole face turned as red as a tomato. Both Alice and Esme knew that I had a crush on Carlisle and they never let me hear the end of it. Esme giggled and wiggled her eyebrows when I blushed.

Charlie and Carlisle said their goodbyes and both went to work. "Shall we go Pack?" Esme asked and Alice hopped off my back. We went up to Alice's room and pulled out some of her clothes. Esme then got me a pink suitcase to match Alice's.

I pulled out the clothes I had brought with me and threw them on the bed. Alice grabbed a couple of my shirts and neatly arranged them into her suitcase. "I love these. Can I borrow them?" She asked after she had them packed away. I rolled my eyes.

"Do you even have to ask?" I said and she blew me a kiss. Esme helped me pick out a few swimsuits and matching flip flops while Alice packed our sneakers. After about an hour and a half, our bags were packed and ready to go.

Alice and I changed into our pajamas and joined Esme, who was also in her pajamas, in the living room. I sat on the couch on Esme's right and Alice sat on her left. "Whatcha doing hot mama?" I asked and Esme laughed.

"Ordering a few things from these catalogues." She said and motioned to the catalogues stacked up on her lap. "I do this every Sunday morning, when I'm not busy." Alice grabbed one of the catalogues and flipped to the page with the cell phones and handed it to Esme.

"We should upgrade our phones. It's been like three years since our last upgrade." Alice said and Esme nodded in agreement.

"I'll talk to your dad tonight and see what he thinks." We spent the rest of our afternoon curled up on the couch eating ice cream, watching movies, painting each other's nails and toenails and talking about our plan to snatch Emmett and Jasper. Life can be good.

We must have fallen asleep, because next thing I remember is Esme gently patting my arm and ruffling my hair. "Wake up sweetie, or you'll miss your flight." She said as I slowly opened my eyes. Esme smiled and went to wake Alice.

After showering and getting dressed, Alice and I were ready to go. We got in the car and Esme drove us to the airport. We got our tickets and luggage taken care of. All that was left to do was wait for Charlie and Carlisle to show up so we could say our goodbyes.

Charlie and Carlisle showed up right when Alice was trying to get coffee from Starbucks. Alice and I both got hugs from Charlie, followed by Esme, then Carlisle. "We'll have all our class work done by the time we get back." Alice said and I nodded in agreement.

"Just have a good time. You can worry about class work when you get back." Esme said and Charlie and Carlisle agreed.

Before long, we were boarding the plane and were on our way to Florida. The plane ride wasn't all that bad. Actually, it was rather calm. We must have been either very tired or very anxious. It might have been a combination of both. I usually don't do so well on planes. The second the plane takes off, I panic.

"Attention passenger, this is your captain speaking, we have now reached our destination and will soon be landing. Thank you for flying Southwest Airlines." The pilot announced over the intercom. I nudged Alice and she glared at me when she opened her eyes. She hates to be woken up in the middle of a good dream.

I smiled and raised my eyebrows. "We're landing." I said and she nearly shot out of her seat. When we landed, we followed the flight attendant's instructions and got off the plane. Once we were in the airport, we looked for the bag area to find our bags.

As we passed the pickup area, I noticed two very cute guys holding up signs with mine and Alice's names on them and our suitcases were sitting on the floor next to them. We walked over to them and were greeted with bear hugs from each of them. "Hey I'm Eric, that's Drake." The guy in the red shirt said.

"Your grandma sent us to pick you up. We're her neighbors and we help her out around the house." Drake said with a stunning smile. Alice and I were both blushing and practically drooling. "Your grandma wasn't lying when she said you two were beauties." Eric said with a wink. I nearly melted into a puddle, right at his feet.

Eric and Drake got our bags and led us to the car. Florida was beautiful. The beach stretched out for miles. Alice looked over at me and waggled her eyebrows. "Mega sexy guys." She whispered and motioned to Eric and Drake. I nodded and giggled.

After about fifteen minutes, we were finally pulling into grams' driveway. Drake took our bags, while Eric led us inside. "Where's grams?" Alice asked.

"She's not here." Drake said as he put the bags down. "She left a number for you to reach her at when you got here." He said and handed Alice a piece of paper with a phone number on it.

"We'll give you some privacy and take your stuff upstairs while you call your grandma." Eric said, as he and Drake each grabbed a bag and went upstairs. I grabbed the house phone off the counter and handed it to Alice. She dialed the number and put it on speaker.

Grams picked up on the third ring. "Hello?" She said.

"Hi grandma." We said at the same time.

"Oh my darlings. How was your flight?" She asked happily.

"I was great grams." I said.

"Special thanks for the hot guys you sent for us." Alice said and grams laughed.

"Oh darling, Drake and Eric are more than just pretty faces, they're quite charming too." Grams said. "Anyways, I'll get straight to the point. I've left you two the house for the week. I know I said I wanted you to come so we could spend time together, but I think you girls need some time to yourselves to let loose and relax." She said.

"You got us to convince our parents to let us cut school and come to Florida so that we could 'let loose and relax'?" Alice asked, trying to sound shocked and failing miserably.

"Why of course. You girls work hard enough as it is, so why not give you a well earned break." She said.

"Wow, our parents would flip if they found out." I said to Alice.

"And that's why we're not going to tell them anything." Grams said and Alice and I grinned at each other. This can't be too bad. We can relax, shop, and Drake and Eric could coach us on how to woo guys.

"Where are you grams?" I asked, a bit curious.

"Your grandfather and I are in Michigan, visiting a few friends." She replied. The fact that she said 'your grandfather and I' didn't go unnoticed by me. I'm glad that she thought of me as a granddaughter.

"How is grandpa?" Alice asked.

"He's just fine dear. He's playing poker with a friend." She responded. "I've left some money in your bedrooms, just in case you want to go shopping later." She said.

"Thanks grandma." Alice and I said at the same time.

"Alright darlings, you run along now. You have plenty to do before you return to Washington." Grams said.

"Bye grandma." We said in unison.

"Goodbye my loves." She said and hung up.

I grabbed Alice's hand and led her upstairs to look around. We went to see the room Alice was staying in. Drake and Eric were sitting in the den, watching tv. "Are you guys ready to party or what?" Drake asked with a sexy grin.

"We know all the hot hangouts around here." Eric added with an equally sexy grin.

"Bella and I actually wanted to go shopping." Alice said.

"That's cool. We can take you to the mall or show you a couple shops if you'd like." Eric said. I don't know where I got the nerve, but I looked at him and slowly licked my lips.

"You can do more than show us around. How about you stick around while we try on outfits? You can tell us the ones you like best." I said with a hopefully flirty grin. Eric and Drake looked at each other and blushed.

"Sure, sounds like fun." Drake said and Eric nodded in agreement. Eric and Drake went to get the car while Alice and I changed tank tops and shorts. We grabbed our money and joined Eric and Drake in the car. Eric drove us to shops that were located right by the beach. God, it felt so good to be in the warm sun again.

We went over to a shop with swimsuits out in the display window. When I opened the door to the shop, Alice ran right past me and straight to the swimsuits. She looked around excitedly, then ran over to the tank tops. I smiled and joined her while Drake and Eric looked around awkwardly.

"Come on let's try on the cute bras they have over there." Alice said, pointing to the lingerie. My face must have paled, because Alice giggled.

"Are you crazy? I can't try on lingerie with Eric and Drake watching." I said in a hushed whisper. Alice rolled her eyes and smiled.

"You _did_ invite them." She said, still looking through the shirts. She was right. I was the one who invited them to tag along, in my horny state of mind. Crap.

"Look at it this way Bella, it'll be great practice for when Emmett sees you in lingerie." She said with a wink. Was she nuts?

"Emmett is not going to see me in my bra and panties." I said, my eyes narrowing into slits.

"Not yet, he isn't. Just wait till we get back." She said with a sly smile. I could only hope she hadn't somehow set up some secret date, where Emmett would see me in my underwear. I sighed and let her drag me over to the sinful lingerie.

"Drake, Eric, come sit over here." Alice said, waving her arms around. Drake and Eric pulled up two chairs and sat by the dressing rooms, with light blushes covering their cheeks. At least I wasn't the only one embarrassed about this.

Alice shoved me into a dressing room, then joined me, with her arms full of clothes. She handed me a black bra with pink ruffles and matching panties. She tried on the black one with the blue ribbons. I didn't look half bad, almost pretty. We walked out to show the boys and they looked as if they would pass out any second, this coming from me, a girl who passes out at the sight of her own blood.

"Wow. You guys look great." Drake said.

"Very sexy." Eric added.

We spent about two hours in the shop trying on clothes. After purchasing the items we liked, we moved on to a different shop. After having a look in every shop, Drake drove us to the mall, as promised. Drake and Eric were very patient. They didn't seem to mind the fact that we absolutely_ had_ to try on everything we liked.

They even held our bags when we got tired. After several hours of shopping at the mall, we stopped at the food court to grab a bite to eat. When Drake and Eric offered to pay for the food, all hell broke loose. "I said we'll pay for the food." Alice said, glaring at Eric.

"Alice, stop being difficult and let _us_ pay for the food." He said, glaring back at her.

After ten minutes of arguing, it was agreed that Alice and I would pay for the food, but Drake and Eric would take us to diner tomorrow night. As we were eating, these creepy guys walked over to talk to me and Alice. "Hey baby." One of them said, with what he must have thought was a sexy smile.

I groaned and resisted the urge to roll my eyes. "Sorry, but I'm not interested." I said kindly.

"Get your hands off me!" Alice shrieked and smacked one of the guys in head when he tried to hold her hand. Drake and Eric got up stared at the creeps.

"They're clearly not interested in you, so can be on your way." Drake said with an angry look on his face. He didn't look like he was messing around either.

"Or what?" One of the creeps asked rudely.

"Or you'll lose your arm, along with your teeth." Eric said as twisted the creep's arm behind his back and pinned him to the wall. That looked painful. When Eric finally let him go, the creep and his group of morons left while swearing under their breaths.

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A/N: I hope you enjoyed…I still have to tweak and modify the next chapter, but I'll try to have it out soon :) Penny for your thoughts? Leave a review… please and thank you.


	4. Chapter 4

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN TWILIGHT OR THE CHARACTERS, BUT CARLISLE CAN HAVE HIS WAY WITH ME

A/N: Enjoy!

CHAPTER 4:

xXx

After the little incident, Drake and Eric led us to the car and took us straight back to grams' house. The entire ride home was silent; no one said a single word. The second we walked into the house, Eric led Alice away and Drake held my hand and led me upstairs to my room.

I used the short walk up to my room to check him out. His soft, curly blond hair seemed to glow in the dim hallway light. He had nice broad shoulders and his white muscle shirt showed off how muscular he really was. What I wouldn't do to watch him take off his shirt. It was honestly a matter of time before I started drooling.

I let my gaze travel down to his ass. The guy had a gorgeous ass. I know that lots of people think that it's impossible to have a gorgeous ass, but Drake really had a great ass. I had to clench my fist to refrain from reaching out and giving those tight buns a good squeeze. Hmmm. I really need to stop thinking like this.

"I'm really sorry for tonight. Those guys were complete assholes." He said, snapping me back to reality.

"It's uh...totally fine. It's um…not your fault at all." I stuttered nervously. Crap, from the way he was looking at me, he must have known I was checking him out. He smiled as we walked into my room, then went to sit on the bed. A few moments of silence went by and I felt awkward.

Drake looked as if he were deep in thought. When he snapped back, he looked as if he wanted to say something, but instead got up and walked out. "Good night." He said over his shoulder as he left. He closed the door behind him so I slowly began putting away my new clothes, along with the ones I had brought from Forks.

After putting my clothes away, I decided to go to Alice's room. I stopped in my tracks when I noticed Drake sitting right outside my room with his head down. I took a seat next to him and leaned against the wall. "It's really hard you know." He said. I had no idea what he was talking about, but my mind went straight to the gutters.

"What's hard?" I asked and he looked up with sad eyes.

"Trying so hard not to kiss you." He said and for some awkward reason my stomach got fuzzy and my heart began beating faster. My body must have acted on its own, because my hand found its way over to Drake and I ran my fingers through his golden blond hair.

My hormones were on a rampage and Drake being so sexy wasn't doing anything but fueling my hunger for him. I felt bad knowing how Drake felt. I continued moving my hands through his hair and he let out a deep sigh. When he looked up at me, he leaned in and softly kissed my lips. As he pulled back, he looked into my eyes, waiting for my reaction.

"There's this guy I like back in Forks. Don't get me wrong, you're really hot." I said and he smiled.

"So, it's just physical attraction. Let's experiment." He suggested and I blushed. I decided that playing dumb would leave me feeling less embarrassed about his suggestion.

"What do you mean?" I asked, blushing and still avoiding eye contact, may I add.

He smiled and pulled me onto his lap. "We're both physically attracted to each other, so let's just have fun with no feelings involved." He stated simply. It made lots of sense. I really needed to "let loose and relax" as grams had so nicely put it. Could I really go through with this? I asked myself. Yes, I decided I could and would do this. I would of course be responsible so that things didn't get out of hand.

"Ok." I said and leaned in to kiss him. His tongue swirled in my mouth and caressed my tongue. I moaned as I felt his hands slide up and down my back. When we finally pulled apart to take a breather, I got off his lap and stood up. "You think you and Eric could spend the night?" I asked and his face lit up.

"Yeah, that'd be great." He said with a childlike grin. He put his arm around me and led me to the living room. I think my eyes must have failed me for a second. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Eric was sitting on the couch and Alice was straddling him. She was running her hands through his hair as she kissed him from the side of his neck down to his chest.

When she noticed me and Drake, she shrieked and almost fell back. "Uh Bella, what are you doing down here? I thought you were sleeping." She said with a deep blush. This was the first time I had seen her blush. "Alice, can I see you in the kitchen?" I said, completely disregarding her questions. I walked to the kitchen and she followed me.

I stopped abruptly and spun around to face her. "What was that about?" I asked and pointed to the living room. She halfheartedly glared at me and threw her hands up in frustration.

"Bella!" She practically shouted. "I am a horny teenage girl, left alone in a house with two guys so hot I could burn cookies on their abs! What do you think I was doing?" She hissed, breathing heavily. Wow. She kinda has a point; and especially after what I just did with Drake upstairs, I have no room to point fingers.

"Okay." I said and she let out a heavy sigh.

"Sorry Bella." She said with an apologetic smile. "I got really defensive over nothing. I was just horny and I wasn't thinking rationally, and I was horny and Eric is mega hot, and I was horny. I'm embarrassed." She said and looked down like a kid who had been caught with their hand in the cookie jar.

"Don't be embarrassed. I just kinda made out with Drake upstairs." I said and felt the blush slowly creep onto my face.

"You what?!?!" She shrieked like a mad woman.

"We're just experimenting. No feelings involved and no strings attached." I said calmly and her eyes got wider. "I personally think this is great. We get more practice on boys for when we return to Forks and we get to have tons of fun. I'm most definitely not complaining." I said as her eyes continued to grow wider.

"Since when are you so…not uptight?" She asked and I shrugged.

"Grams said to let loose and relax and that's exactly what I intend to do." I said and Alice smiled.

"Let's go watch movies." She said with a wink and headed to the living room. We put on some random movie and turned off the lights. Drake and Eric were sitting in between me and Alice. Alice and Drake shared a blanket and me and Eric shared our own. Not even ten minutes into the movie, I felt Eric running his fingers up and down my thigh.

Before long, I was straddling him and was practically sucking his face off. I slowly ground against him as I licked his earlobe, then bit his neck. I felt the couch shift next to us as Alice and Drake began to have their own fun. I don't know how long we sat there kissing and groping, before we all fell asleep.

I slowly opened my eyes when I felt someone kick me in the side. I looked over and it was Alice who was jabbing the hell out of me in her sleep. We were back in my room, on the bed, with Drake and Eric nowhere in sight. Alice kicked me again so I reached over and gave her a well deserved smack on the leg.

She shot up from where she was laying and yelped. "What the hell?!?!" She yelled and looked around frantically as she rubbed her leg. She looked so startled, I could barely keep from laughing. She glared at me when she realized I had hit her. She the dramatically shut her eyes and attempted to go back to sleep. "Bitch." She muttered under her breath and she pulled the covers over her face.

I giggled and crawled on top of her. I tickled her and she immediately began laughing and thrashing around. "Oh my god…..Get…Get off…." She pleaded between laughs.

"What's this?" Eric said from the doorway. "Girl on girl. I like what I'm seeing." He said and I rolled off Alice. He walked closer to the bed with a big ass grin.

"Not even in your dreams bub. What me and Bella do behind closed doors stays behind closed doors." Alice said with a flirty look and blew me a kiss. I giggled and rolled my eyes.

"So, does a lot happen behind closed doors?" He asked and wiggled his eyebrows as I got out of bed.

"More than you'll ever know." I said and kissed his cheek as I walked past him to go brush my teeth. Alice laughed and got out of bed. She kissed Eric's other cheek and came into the bathroom to wash her face.

"He probably thinks we're into each other now." Alice said as she splashed water onto her face.

"But aren't we?" I asked playfully with a pout and Alice giggled. After washing her face, she went to her bathroom to shower and brush her teeth. I took a long hot shower to help relax my muscles, then dried off and went to my closet. I slipped on a cute red bikini and jean shorts over the bottom half to cover up a bit. After putting my hair into a ponytail, I put on red flip flops and went downstairs.

Eric and Alice were sitting at the table having their breakfast and Drake was making pancakes. As I walked to the fridge to get some juice, I stopped and grabbed Drake's ass. "I liked it." He said as I opened the fridge. After eating breakfast, we headed out for more shopping. When we got tired of shopping, we went back home and packed a cooler with food and drinks so we could go hang out at the beach.

It was nice and warm out. The beach was filled with people of all ages. We found a nice spot to set up our towels and our umbrella. Once we were settled, we stripped down to our bikinis and got ready to have fun. I rubbed on suntan lotion as Alice rummaged through the cooler. "Drakey? Will you get my back?" I asked and waved the suntan bottle. He rolled his eyes and rubbed the lotion on for me.

After Alice settled down, she put on the suntan lotion and I got her back. She and I layed out and worked on our tans while the boys went off and tossed a football around with some other guys. "There's nothing better than hanging out by the ocean, tanning." Alice said and I agreed.

"You said it sister." I said and reached for a bottle of water.

"This sure as hell beats being at school and having to watch those sluts who shall not be named throw themselves at our men, who shall also not be named." Alice said and popped her gum.

"You got that right." I said with a giggle.

"When are we heading to your mom's?" She asked as she flipped over to tan her stomach.

"I was thinking maybe Thursday morning." I responded.

"Okay." She said as she sat up and began to undo her bikini.

"Alice, what the hell are you doing?" I asked and attempted to shield her exposed chest. "Are you aware of the fact that your boobs are hanging out for the entire public?" I asked almost hysterically.

"Calm down Bella. I'm only going nude for a bit. I don't want tan lines." She explained, as if that made it alright to be naked at a beach full of people, not to mention old people and children.

"Put your bikini back on for Christ's sake. We'll get rid of the tan lines when we get home." I said. "Chop Chop, I don't have all day. I want to go swim." I said as she put her bikini back on.

"Ugh, fine." She said dramatically. "But after our swim we have to talk to random people to help build character and confidence. Okay?" she said and turned around so I could tie her top. We then ran out to the water and splashed around for a good 20 minutes.

"That was fun." Alice said and we got out of the water and went to get our towels.

"I know." I said and dried off. For a few hours, we walked around getting to know random people. I was a bit shy at first, but as my energy went up, so did my confidence. We got lots of numbers from guys, even a few girls; of course we deleted the numbers as quickly as we had stored them. We had our men waiting for us in Forks, so we had no need for these numbers.

"I was thinking of getting my bellybutton pierced." Alice said when we were walking around looking for Eric and Drake. "Would you come with me?" She asked.

"Of course. All though I know your mother would kill you regardless, I still wouldn't let you go alone." I said and she made a face. "We can find a place that can get it done today if you want. So that way by the time we get back to Forks, it'll be too late for your parents to stop you." I said and she giggled.

"You daredevil." She said and swatted my arm playfully. "You should get something pierced too. Maybe your cooch, I think Emmett would love that." She said with a perverted smile.

"Alice, that sounds painful and uncomfortable. Why would I get my vagina pierced?" I questioned and she busted out laughing. She tried to catch her breath a few times, but failed miserably.

"Just a suggestion." She said with her eyes still watery from laughing so hard.

"Alright, I'll think about it if you pierce yours first." I said and she exploded into laughter again.

"Pierce what?" A familiar voice asked. I looked up and saw Eric and Drake standing in front of us half naked, with shit eating grins on their faces.

"Bella totally wants to pierce her cooch." Alice said and I gasped.

"You take that back! It was your suggestion to pierce my cooch and I said no." I said, not even surprised by the blush that crept onto my face. Alice has no word filter.

"Eh, same difference. You guys know any shops around here where they do piercings?" Alice asked and Drake and Eric looked extremely shocked.

"You're actually going to. . . You know?" Drake asked. He couldn't even finish his sentence. Both he and Eric were a bright red color and that made me feel a little better about my blush.

"No! I am not getting my vagina pierced." I exclaimed a bit too loud. Just about every person in the area turned to look in our direction. After a few seconds of awkward silence we all exploded into laughter.

"Oh, that's funny. She said vagina." Alice said with an innocent chuckle. We collected out things and returned home. We each showered and changed, then began our mission to find a body piercing shop. After an hour of driving and asking around, we finally found a place. We talked to one of the guys at the shop (Drew) and convinced him to pierce Alice's belly button even though she wasn't 18 yet.

"Right this way." The guy said and led Alice to a seat. She held my hand and closed her eyes. It looked painful. She gripped my hand tighter and shouted when Drew pierced her bellybutton.

"Oh sweet baby Jesus, shit this hurts." She said as tried to stop thrashing around. When Drew finally finished she groaned and I snickered. I smiled and patted her back as she glared at me. Drew began to put away the equipment but I stopped him.

"I was kinda hoping you'd do one for me too." I said nervously. I knew this would hurt like hell.

"Sure, grab a seat. I'll go wash my hands and grab a new needle." He said. Oh, crap. What have I gotten myself into? Drew came back and Alice held my hand for support, like I had held hers. I felt a sharp pain when the needle went through my skin.

"Fuck! This does hurt." I yelled and Alice held my hand tighter.

"It'll be over soon, you big baby." Alice said.

"You have some nerve Brandon. Especially since you were the one yelling a few minutes ago." I said and she giggled.

"I have more nerve than you Swan." She said and dropped my hand as Drew finished up. We decided to get our noses pierced while we were on a pain streak. If we didn't do it now, we would lose the nerve later. After drew finished up, he told us how to keep the piercings disinfected until they healed. We thanked Drew and paid him, then we were on our way.

Alice and I were moaning and groaning about the pain the entire drive home. We must have been driving poor Drake and Eric insane with our constant complaints. Since we were still in pain, when we got home, we decided to lie out in the backyard and tan in the nude. While drake and Eric were inside playing video games, Alice and I grabbed a few magazines and worked on our tans.

After a few hours, we were no longer pale. I wasn't super tan, but I was just happy that I was not the color of snow anymore. Our skin almost resembled those perfect golden tans you see on tv. We went back inside and got dressed. Time flies by when you're having fun.

Before we knew it, it was Thursday and we had to pack and head to Renee's. Drake and Eric offered to take us up to Jacksonville, so after we were packed, we got in the car and were on our way. I was excited to see my mom, but I didn't know how she'd react to the piercings. It was time to face the music.

A/N: Sorry for speeding through their time with Drake and Eric, I'm just eager for them to go see Renee and get back to Forks…. Bikini and piercing pictures are on my page…I'll try to have the next chapter up soon :) Penny for your thoughts?? Leave a review :^)


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:** sorry for the long wait. I had to help 4 people edit their senior paper, and 3 people wanted me to help with their senior project. Now that school is out, I should be able to update quicker. Enjoy!

**DICLAIMER:** I don't own Twilight, but Carlisle owns me

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_**Chapter 5**_

The closer we got to Renee's house, the more terrified I got. I honestly didn't know how she would feel about the piercings. Maybe we'll get lucky and she won't even notice…not very likely, but let's keep our fingers crossed. Of course, it wasn't too long before we were pulling up to Renee's house. Eric and Drake helped us get our bags to the front door and said their goodbyes. We decided they should split before Renee saw them and suspected or found out that we weren't really with grams and gramps.

The boys waved as they pulled out of the driveway and sped down the street. I took a deep breath and rang the doorbell twice. I released the breath I was holding and relaxed when there was no immediate response. Of course when 30 seconds passed and still, no one had answered, Alice went nuts. She banged on the door several times and rang the doorbell repeatedly.

"Oh Jesus Christ, hang on I'm coming." I heard Renee yell from inside the house. The door swung open and revealed a very sleepy looking Renee wearing a pink bathrobe with matching fluffy slippers. Her hair was a complete mess; almost like a bird nest.

"Hey mom." I said with a reluctant smile.

"Hey mama. Love the bird nest hairdo." Alice said and motioned to Renee's hair with her pinky finger.

"Oh, my babies." Renee said and pulled both me and Alice into a tight hug. After thoroughly hugging the life out of us, she pulled back and led us into the house. "How are you? Are you tired? When did you get to Florida? How was your flight?" She fired off question after question. I didn't know which question to answer first.

"We've been here since Monday. Paying grams and gramps a little visit." Alice lied smoothly and topped it off with a sweet and innocent smile.

"Yeah, what Alice said. Dad had suggested we drop by and surprise you while we were down here." I said and Renee's face lit up.

"Baby, that is so thoughtful. Thank Charlie for me." She said and pulled me into another hug. I hugged her back and inhaled the slight scent of freesia coming from her hair. God, I had missed her.

"Dou you have any sprite in here?" Alice asked as she raided the fridge. Renee went over to the fridge and pushed a few beers aside to pull out two cans of sprite. She set the sodas on the table and gave us two cups full of ice. After she sat at the table, Alice and I joined her. We sat down across from Renee and her eyes widened.

"You pierced your noses?" She asked, looking as if she were about to go into shock.

'Well, we actually pierced our noses and our bellybuttons.' I wanted to say, but held my tongue. I decided against telling her about our bellybuttons for now. "Yes we did." I said and she frowned.

"You take those out right this instant." She said and got up to walk around the table. She went over to Alice and held her hand out. Alice sighed and removed the stud from her nose. She looked down sadly at the little stud before hesitantly placing it in Renee's hand. Renee then walked up to me and held out her hand. I rolled my eyes and handed her my stud. Of all the times she acts carefree, she picks now to act motherly. She gave us a stern look as she put the studs on the table.

"Why would you do this to yourselves?" She asked

"We thought it would look cute." Alice said.

"And plus, some guys like piercings on girls." I said and Alice nodded in agreement.

Renee's face softened up a bit. "Look, if a guy likes you, then he should like you for _you_, not who you could be. Someone who loves you won't ask you to change who you are. If they do, then they clearly don't deserve you and they aren't worth the time or the energy." She said with a proud smile.

"Anymore piercings or maybe tattoos I should know about?" She asked only half joking, as she raised a perfectly tweezed eyebrow at us. Alice and I turned to look at each other and Renee sighed.

"Well?" She asked and crossed her arms. I stood up slowly and pulled my shirt up to reveal my pierced bellybutton. Renee exhaled loudly. She glared at me before she turned to Alice to give her a questioning look.

"You too?" She asked and Alice nodded.

"Please don't make us take them out. Please mom." I pleaded hopelessly. "I swear I didn't do this to impress a guy. I actually kind of like it. And plus it would really hurt and could get infected if we take them out now. They haven't healed completely." I rambled in attempt to plead with Renee.

Alice went up and hugged Renee with a sad look on her face. "Please? We'll never get pierced again." Alice begged over and over again. After a few minutes of contemplating her options, Renee gave us a stern look. "Alright, but I have a few conditions." She said and we braced ourselves for the worst.

"First off, no more piercings and no tattoos. Second, Alice, if your parents aren't okay with this, then you both have to remove those things." She said, eyeing my bellybutton as if she were expecting someone or something to come flying out.

"Third, absolutely no more piercings." She said and looked more relieved.

Alice and I jumped around the dining room, doing our little victory dances. Renee showed us up and helped us unpack. Alice and I had to share a room, but we didn't mind at all. Renee made food and we pigged out. Afterwards, we convinced her to take us to the mall since Phil wouldn't be back for a bit.

"Holy shit! They're having a clearance and everything is 75% off!" Alice shrieked and dragged me and Renee into a store. About an hour later we left the store with tons of bags. The prices were a complete steal! I got 25 different colored polo shirts, 12 pairs of jeans, 5 skirts, 8 pairs of sneakers, 3 belts, a pair of sunglasses, 3 handbags, 6 amazing sweaters and 2 faux-fur jackets all for a little over two hundred dollars. Had it not been for the sale, all that stuff would have cost at least $1,400.

Alice had also bought plenty of things. Renee didn't but much, but she was happy with what she found. She bought a couple sweaters and a new lingerie set (I could have lived without hearing her gush about how Phil would love it). We hit up a shoe store and we each got a few cute high heels.

"We _have_to go to Bath and Body Works!" Renee squealed when we walked past the store. "They have the best body washes and perfumes and the prices are amazing!" Renee gushed. We left Bath and Body Works half an hour later with at least four bags full of lotions, body sprays and body washes. Our next stop was Victoria's Secret. We bought a few bras and panties, along with more perfumes and lotions.

We were exhausted by the time we left Victoria's Secret, so we got some coffee at Starbucks and went home. Once we got home, we had to haul all the stuff we bought into the house. "If I have to carry one more bag, I swear I'll have a hunchback by the end of the night." Renee said in between breaths.

"I didn't know we had company." Phil said with a smile. I dropped my bags and ran over to hug him. Even though Phil wasn't my real dad, he was still my dad. He loved me as much as a father could love his daughter and he loved Renee more than anything.

"Phil." I said as he hugged me tightly.

"How are you squirt?" He asked when he pulled back.

"Good." I replied and stepped back to give him some space.

"How the hell are you short stuff?" He said and Alice glared at him.

"I'll have you know that I have grown 3 inches since the last time I saw you." Alice huffed and crossed her arm. Phil snickered and she turned to walk away.

"I'm just messing with you." He said and pulled Alice into a hug.

Alice and I put our stuff away, along with Renee's things while Phil made dinner and Renee set the table. When I looked over, Alice was bouncing on the bed and giving me a creepy smile. "What?" I asked uncomfortably and she giggled. Every time Alice gives me that smile, she ends up telling me about some completely insane idea and then persuades me to see it her way.

She patted the spot on the bed next to her so I went over and took a seat. She draped her arm around my shoulder just as I sat down. "We should get a car." She said with a grin.

"With what money Alice? We're practically broke." I questioned. She rolled her eyes and glared at me.

"You think I don't know that?" She asked and raised her eyebrows.

"Oh, okay. It all makes sense now." I said sarcastically. "Let's use the money we don't have to pay for a car. Perfect idea." I said and she huffed.

"You're full of shit, you know that?" She said. "What I meant was grams and gramps could buy us a car." She said. At that very moment I wanted to slap her and see if she would get some sense back.

"Are you nuts?" I asked. She ignored my question and carried on talking as if I hadn't said a word.

"They're loaded. All we have to d is ask. And plus, you know how grams loves buying us gifts." She said as if it were the most natural thing in the world to ask your grandparents to buy you a car.

"No. This is where I draw the line. I could understand if you wanted to save up for a car or ask grams to loan us money; But just flat out asking her to buy a car is not happening Alice." I said and left the conversation at that. After I had put my stuff away, I hopped into the shower and relaxed under the hot spray of water. I could feel my tense muscles loosening up. After showering, I washed my hair and shaved, then dried off and got dressed.

After getting dressed, I joined Phil, Renee and Alice in the dining room. We all engaged in small talk as we ate, then cleared the table. Once the table had been cleared, I went straight to the guest room and lied down. The door swung open and Alice walked in just as I was about to fall asleep.

"Are you still mad?" She asked and I faced her.

"Are you still having unreasonable thoughts?" I asked and she laughed a little.

"Not really." She said and sat in the center of the bed. She pulled me into a sitting position and hugged the hell out of me. "I don't like when we get mad at each other." She said and I nodded in agreement.

"I don't either." I said and hugged her tighter. Alice has been my best friend way back since I first met her. If I lost her friendship, that would affect me in more ways than one. She's like my sister. Alice turned off the lights and turned the tv on. We watched re-runs of Jersey Shore until Renee came into the room.

"Hey girls. I thought you two were asleep." She said and quietly closed the door behind her. She joined us in the bed and I snuggled into her left side. Alice leaned into her right side and sighed. "Are you girls okay?" She asked and moved mine and Alice's heads into her lap and stroked out hair.

Neither of us said anything. "You know you can talk to me if there's something wrong." She said and continued stroking our hair.

"There's nothing wrong. I'm just tired and a bit nervous to return to Forks." I said and Renee nodded.

"I'm mentally exhausted from constantly trying to come up with ways to make Rosalie and Tanya miserable once we get back to Forks." Alice said and I felt myself smile involuntarily.

"Okay. Whose problems should we talk about first?" Renee asked.

"I nominated Bella." Alice said and gave my hand a light squeeze.

"All this time away from school has been great. No stress, no work and no drama." I began ranting.

"No crazy sluts trying to ruin our lives." Alice threw in her two cents. I knew she was referring to Rosalie and Tanya. Renee smiled and listened. "Sorry for interrupting you, I just had to let that out while we were still on the subject." Alice said and poked me in the side. I poked her back and she twitched.

"So you're dreading going back to Forks?" Renee asked.

"Not exactly." I responded and she furrowed her eyebrows.

"I don't follow." She said with a puzzled look.

"Long story short; this one guy Edward hates my guts, but I have the hots for his cousin Emmett. Emmett and Edward are friends with Jasper, the guy Alice likes. We could very much avoid Edward and try to get at Emmett and Jasper anyways, but Rosalie Hale (the evil demon from hell) is Jasper's twin sister and she hates us way more than Edward hates me. As if that isn't bad enough, Tanya Denali likes Emmett and Jessica Stanley likes Jasper. For reasons unknown (other than the fact that god completely hates us) Rosalie, Tanya and Jessica are best friends. To make matters worse, Edward is Dating Tanya. I bet on the day of their wedding, the vows will contain their dislike for me." I rambled and took a deep breath when I stopped talking.

"That's the short version huh?" Renee asked with a smile.

"I guess you could call it that." I replied.

"If Emil and Jason like you, they won't care that Edwin hates you, or that Rosemary hates you even more." She said with a smile.

"You mean Emmett and Jasper." Alice corrected her.

"It's also Edward and Rosalie." I said and Renee rolled her eyes.

"Potato, tomato." She said and burst out laughing.

"It's potato, potato. Jeez, you old people." Alice joked and we laughed hysterically.

"My advice to you is to fight for what or who you want. I'm not telling you to get into an actual fight but you know what I mean." Renee said.

"My turn!" Alice announced.

"Okay, so what you have to do is make those girls back off or make them wish they'd never messed with you in the first place. Again, I'm not encouraging you to fight them, I'm just saying you should stand up to them and show them you mean business." Renee said.

Alice and I looked at each other and began laughing uncontrollably.

"Why are you laughing? I'm trying to help you by giving good advice." Renee complained and we laughed harder. I wanted to stop laughing but I just couldn't.

"We're not laughing at you, we're laughing with you." Alice said and I laughed harder.

"Thanks for the help mom. We appreciate it and we love you for it." I said and we both hugged her.

"I'm not busy tomorrow. We can hang out at the spa and have a girls' day. I think we can squeeze in a bit more shopping. I want to buy you guys a few things." Renee said.

"You don't have to buy us anything mom." Alice said and I nodded in agreement.

"We enjoy just spending time with you. And plus we have a bit of money left over." I said.

"Oh nonsense. I hardly ever see you girls. You're here now and I want to spoil you rotten." She said. "When Phil isn't around I have to be productive somehow, so I got a job. It pays a lot more than I need for spending money." She said.

"Thanks mom." Alice and I said in unison and hugged her again.

"You girls should get to sleep. You look a little tired." Renee said and got out of the bed.

"Goodnight mom." I said.

"Night mama." Alice said and Renee kissed us both goodnight before leaving and closing the door.

"Goodnight Alice." I said with a yawn.

"Goodnight honey." She replied.

A few minutes passed by before I felt darkness wash over me. I was soon fast asleep.

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**A/N:** Thank you for reading. I'll be updating more often now that school is out :) Leave a review and tell me what you think… Thanks guys!


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: I don't know why, but I rewrote this chapter a lot. There's something I don't like about it. Anyway, read and enjoy!

**DISCLAIMER:** If I owned Twilight, I wouldn't be as broke as I am now. I'm owned by Carlisle.

**Chapter: 6**

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I writhed as I felt something or someone hold me down. I tried to open my eyes but it was as if they were glued shut. My stomach was on fire and the only thing that eased the pain was my heavy breathing. I struggled around a bit, but the sharp pain in my stomach wouldn't go away. I finally willed myself to open my eyes and I was very annoyed, yet very relieved at what I saw.

Alice was sitting on top of me, looking down at me with a silly grin. "Oh Emmett, dance with me Emmett. Oh Emmett, I want you to f-" I pushed her off me before she finished her sentence.

"I hate you." I said and pulled up my shirt to look at my bellybutton. It was sore and was surrounded with pink. Stupid Alice. I glared at her again and she giggled.

"You were talking all night." She said and I was suddenly mortified. "I take it you had a good dream. I'm just assuming that because of your constant moaning, but I could be wrong." She said and I hit her with a pillow. She sat up and smiled. "I thought so." She said and got out of bed.

I showered while Alice picked out her clothes and brushed her teeth. While Alice showered, I brushed my teeth and got dressed. We then headed downstairs to grab breakfast.

"Why hello Sir Phillip." Alice greeted Phil formally in a bad English accent. "Your Royal Highness." She said and bowed to Renee.

"Well how do you do Mary Alice?" Phil responded in and even worse accent.

"The name's Alice, get it right pal." She huffed and looked around suspiciously, as if she were in a mafia. I ignored Phil and Alice's terrible attempts at comedy and took a seat.

"Sorry I can't stay and have breakfast with you lovely ladies." Phil apologized and kissed Renee.

"Eww, not at the table." Alice complained.

"Yeah, yeah." He said and leaned down to hug Alice.

"I'm heading out to Louisiana this afternoon and your mother will be here till you two squirts head back to Washington, then she's coming out to watch me play." He said and kissed my forehead.

"Alright." I said and hugged him.

"I won't make it to your birthday if we win the next three games." He said apologetically. "Sorry sweetheart." He said glumly, then looked over to Alice. "I'll find a way to make up my absence on your birthdays if I don't make it." He said and Renee got up to walk him out to the car.

My birthday is on September 13th and Alice's is on September 15th, so each year, we meet each other halfway and celebrate both our birthdays on the 14th. I was bummed that Phil probably wouldn't make it to our party. I sighed loudly and Alice glared at me.

"Don't you go getting all sad on me Swan. We're supposed to hang out and have fun with mummy dearest." Alice said in a snooty tone and I laughed. She always knew how to cheer me up.

"We should probably tan again before heading back to Forks just so I don't get transparent again." I said and she nodded.

"We can do it later today and again on Saturday." She suggested and helped me clear the table. I put the dishes in the dishwasher while Alice wiped off the table and the counters.

"You girls ready for a day at the spa?" Renee asked, making a kissy face.

"Her Royal Highness Alice is here. She commands you to shower her with love and extravagant gifts all day long. Anyone who refuses to abide by these commands shall be put to death by guillotine." Alice said dramatically and bowed.

"Whatever Alice." I said and she pinched me. "We're ready mom."

We drove out to one of the fanciest spas I had ever seen. It was a cross between a beachfront resort and an actual real spa. The inside was even more beautiful than the outside. . . and that's saying something. We walked over the front desk and greeted the woman sitting there. Above her head, in big, bold, elegant letters, was written: Key West Jala.

Renee had a short chat with her, then she led us to the back rooms. She instructed us to remove our clothing and cover up with the towels while we waited for our masseuses. We did as we were told and laid down to wait. "You should get a haircuts before heading back to Forks. Just cut off a little to remove the split ends." Renee said.

"Alright."

"I'm thinking of going blond. What do you think?" Alice asked, out of nowhere.

"No!" Renee and I said and Alice looked up.

"Jeez, a kind 'no' would have worked too." She said.

"I like your hair black. If you dye your hair blond, I'm dying my hair blue." I said and Alice looked horrified.

"Really Bella? Blue? Have I taught you nothing?" She asked and shook her head in disappointment.

"Blah, blah, blah." I said.

"I'll go jet black and you can stay brunette." She said and reached over to shake my hand in agreement.

After getting the most wonderful massages, we took mud baths and got another round of massages. While we got facial, we got our nails and toenails done. I'm not a fan of getting my nails done too often, but I had to admit, they came out perfectly.

"Oh, my nails are so gorgeous I should kiss you!" Alice exclaimed.

"Don't harass the poor woman, jeez Alice." I said.

When we left the spa, we went to a hair salon to take care of our split ends. My hair was now getting ridiculously long, but Alice made me swear not to shorten it too much. I got 2 ½ inches cut off my hair and Alice got 2 inches cut off. She got her hair dyed jet black and I got mine dyed a richer brown. "How do I look?" Alice asked and flipped her hair.

"As if you weren't hot before, you're even hotter now." I said and she squealed.

"You look ultra sexy Bella. The creamy chocolate color of your hair brings out your pretty eyes." She said. "I know Esme will love our hair." She said delightedly. Alice could always boost my self-esteem.

I looked in the mirror and combed my fingers through my hair. "I guess it doesn't look that bad." I said as we walked out to the front of the salon. Renee was flipping through a magazine and laughing with the woman next to her.

"How do we look?" Alice asked, cutting into the conversation Renee and the other woman were having. The woman looked a bit offended that Alice cut her off. Alice can be rude sometimes, part of the reason why I love her.

"You look so beautiful." Renee said and pulled us into a hug. "You're growing up so fast. Soon enough, you'll be women, ready to take on the world." She said with tears in her eyes. We stopped by a shoe store on the way home because Alice insisted that we needed more converse. Alice isn't a sneaker type of girl, but she can deal with converse. Once we got home, Renee packed her bag for Louisiana, then hit the shower. After her shower she went off to her room to take a nap. Alice and I changed into bikinis and went out to the beach to tan. We set up our towels in a spot that had the perfect amount of sunlight. We put on tanning lotion and relaxed. Some guys were ogling us and I felt a bit uncomfortable. Alice ignored them and pulled a notepad and a pencil out of her bag.

"So, how are we going to go about operation T.O.T.A.R (Take Out Tanya And Rosalie)?" Alice asked. "I want to be as known as they are, but I don't want to have to become one of those god awful heartless, cheerleading bimbos to be known." Alice said.

"So you don't necessarily want to be popular, you just want to be known… in a good way?" I asked and she nodded.

"Yup. Maybe not necessarily known either, but maybe just appreciated. I want to show those bimbos that you don't have to be a stuck up or a bitch to be liked and respected by the student body."

"We could talk to a few coaches and help out on a few teams. It also wouldn't hurt to join a few clubs." I suggested.

"What work could we possibly do any team, that doesn't require being a part of the team?" Alice wondered out loud. "The more people get to know us, the better."

"We could bring water and Gatorade, courtesy of the diner. I know that Julie would be more than happy to help out by donating drinks." I said and Alice beamed.

"Oh my god Bella, you're a freaking genius." Alice said and ruffle my hair.

"Hey yo, be careful, my freaking brains is in there!" I said, imitating Snookie from Jersey Shore. Alice began laughing uncontrollably. She laughed so long, I had to pinch her a few times to get her to knock it off.

"That was too funny." She said as she wiped away an imaginary tear.

"So we have to ask Julie if she can donate drinks to hand out during practices and games." Alice made note of that in the notepad. "How about we pack snacks for away games." She suggested.

"Go for it." I said and she wrote it down. "Since we can't be at all the sports events at once, I say we stick to helping out the football team. They've got the most influence over sports and we get to see our guys.

"What else?" She asked.

"I think this is enough for now. I don't want us to get ahead of ourselves." I said.

"Do you know what this means?" She asked and I shook my head.

"No I don't." I replied, a bit lost.

"If this works out and the athletes like us, we'll be closer to the teams than the cheerleaders are. Which means, that'll put us in a better spot than Rosalie and her minions." Alice said with a huge smile.

"I know the band is doing a carwash next Tuesday. We could go lend a hand." I said and Alice wrote that down.

"Great. We'll show up in bikinis and push a bit of sex appeal. We raise them money and boom, we have new friends." She said excitedly. "Those skanks are going down." She said and smashed her tiny fist into her other hand.

"Hell yeah they are." I agreed. The more we discussed our plans, the more excited I got. "They really won't know what hit them." I said and Alice laughed.

"They'll be flat on their asses once we pull the rug out from underneath them." Alice snickered. We spent the rest of our time perfecting our plans and working on our tans.

"When life gives you lemons, you quirt them in your enemies' eyes." I said and our laughter started up again. The people closest to us must have thought we were insane from all our laughing. "Let's advertise the carwash at the diner. We'll make flyers and hand them out." I said and Alice nodded. When the sun began to set, we grabbed our stuff and went home.

Renee was in the living room eating ice cream and watching The Bourne Identity. "I want ice cream with a side order of Jason Bourne." Alice said. We showered and changed into our pajamas then went back to the living room with Renee. "How was the beach?" She asked as she scooped a spoonful of ice cream into her mouth.

"Good. Thanks mom." I said.

"Yeah, it was very relaxing. Thanks for everything." Alice said running over with two spoons.

"Of course. No problem at all." Renee said with a devilish grin. I had the feeling she was up to something, but I couldn't call her out on it yet, because I didn't know what it was. We watched tv and ate ice cream till very late in the night. We ended up falling asleep on the couch.

When I woke up, it was 4 am. I grabbed two blankets from the linen closet and draped them around Alice and Renee. At around 5:30 am, I heard some yelling and laughing down by the beach, so I decided to go check it out. Yes, I know. In a horror movie I'd probably be the first to die because I always have to go check things out and find trouble. Yes, yes; we all know "curiosity killed the cat." Tell that to Curious George.

I changed into gray shorts and a light gray hoodie. As I got closer, I noticed that the yelling was coming from a few girls who were playing volleyball. Just as I was about to leave, they called me over and asked if I wanted to play. They were short a girl and wanted to even out the teams so I agreed.

I warned them that I sucked terribly but they insisted I play. They taught me a few good techniques and I put them into effect when we played. I'm glad to say that I wasn't as bad as I thought. I could barely serve, but they taught me how to set, hit and spike.

At around nine, I decided to head home so Renee wouldn't get worried. "Will you guys be here later today?" I asked, and one of the girls, whose name was Perla answered.

"Yeah. You can stop by and we can play again." She said and tossed the ball to Tracy.

"Would it be alright if I brought a friend?" I asked, knowing full well that Alice would want to play too.

"Sure, the more people we have, the better." Melissa said. With a promise to be back in a few hours, I jogged back to the house to tell Alice the good news.

"Where were you?" Alice asked and she ate a spoonful of cereal.

"Down at the beach. I met a few girls who taught me a couple things about volleyball. I'm going back to play later. You're more than welcome to come with me." I offered and she agreed.

"Alright."

"Hey baby." Renee said and kissed my cheek as she went into the kitchen and grabbed a cup of coffee. "I'm going to meet up with a few girls from work. You girls don't mind do you?" She asked.

"Of course not. Go enjoy yourself. We'll probably be down at the beach all afternoon anyways." I said.

She grabbed her keys and her bag. "Behave yourselves." She said and kissed us goodbye.

The house phone rang and Alice looked at me expectantly. By the third ring, it was clear that Alice wasn't going to get it so I rushed over and picked up. "Hello?" I said into the phone.

"Isabella darling, how are you?" I recognized the voice as grams'.

"Hi grams. I'm great. How are you?" I asked.

"I'm fine darling. How's your mother?" she asked.

"She's great. She just left the house. She's going out with a few friends from work."I replied.

"That's good darling. How's your sister?" She asked.

"Alice is being Alice." I said. Alice ran over to the kitchen and picked up the other phone.

"Whatever she told you, she's lying grams. None of it is true." Alice said and grams laughed.

"Hey grams? How's grandpa?" I asked.

"Yeah, how's the old geezer?" Alice asked.

"The _old geezer_ is doing just fine young lady." Grandpa said.

"I didn't really mean that gramps. I didn't think you were on the line. Gee, thank for warning me grams." Alice said sarcastically.

"Well, I was just calling to make sure you girls are alright. You've left quite an impression on Drake and Eric." Grams said and I felt my face heat up.

"You know how we roll grams." Alice said.

"What now dear?" Grams asked, sounding very confused.

"Nothing grandma." Alice sighed.

"I'll let you go now." Grams said.

"But you didn't even ask them about the-." Grandpa began to say but grams cut him off.

"Goodbye my loves. Take care. Tell your mothers I said hello." She said and hung up on us.

"That was strange." I said to myself.

"Yeah, talk about rudeness!" Alice grumbled and slammed the phone down.

We hung around the house watching Jersey Shore for a bit. At around noon, we changed into our bikinis and went down to the beach for some volleyball.

"Wait! At least let me get your back. You don't want it to turn all pasty again do you?" Alice sad and put tanning lotion on my back.

"Hey! I was never pasty." I whined.

"Bells, your butt cheeks used to be mushy and whiter than snow." She said and the guy passing by turned to look at us. He gave us an odd look and Alice snapped at him.

"Hey, what the hell are _you_ looking at?" she asked the guy and he looked away.

"Leave the poor guy alone Alice." I said.

For the rest of the afternoon, we hung out and played volleyball with Melissa and the other girls. They taught Alice a few things and I finally learned how to serve. By the end of the afternoon, Alice and I could pass for pro volleyball players. Okay, so pro is a bit of an exaggeration. We were good enough to make it on a high school team, not at a varsity level of course, and not like I would ever try out or anything.

"This was really fun you guys." Alice said and took a gulp from her water bottle.

"Yeah. It totally blows that you're leaving in like 2 days." Tracy said.

"We should exchange numbers. You know, that way whenever you're back in Florida, we can hang out and play some more volleyball." Perla said.

Melissa handed me her phone and I stored my number. I passed it to Alice and she did the same. "I'll text you the girls' numbers later and give the girls your numbers." Melissa said.

We said our goodbyes and headed home. When we got home, Alice called Esme and we told her how things were going so far. "So, I talked to your dad about the upgrade you wanted." Esme said.

"And?" Alice asked impatiently.

"We'll upgrade the phones when you get back." She said.

"Yes!" Alice shouted. I didn't even realize that we didn't have our phones until Esme brought it up. Hopefully, we had left them back in forks and not on the plane.

"By the way mom, our birthdays are coming up soon, and we don't want a party. Hint, hint." Alice said sarcastically. She does this every year; hints around that she doesn't want a party, so that our parents remember to throw us one.

After confirming our flight schedule with Esme, we hung up. We went up to our room and packed up all our stuff. We had to steal a few suitcases from Renee in order to fit all our new stuff. Alice sat on the bed flipping through a magazine while I double checked to make sure we had everything.

"You want to crash at my house on Sunday? Mom can take us to school in the morning on her way to work." Alice offered.

"Sure that'd be great. Charlie will probably be at La Push and I don't want to be all alone with my fabulous tan." I said and Alice threw a pillow at me.

"We'll order pizza and stay up." She said excitedly. It seemed that no matter how much time we spent together, Alice never got tired or bored of me. I liked that about her.

"Or we can go to bed early because we have school in the morning and we have lots of catching up to do. We're going to have to get as much sleep as we can from now on. We have school, work, boys and evil skanks to worry about now. We need lots of rest." I said.

"I can't wait to see Jasper. Do you think he misses me? Oh god, what if he doesn't like me anymore? What if he's pissed and thinks I've been avoiding him for an entire week?" She began to panic.

"Calm down Alice. If anything, he's probably counting the days till he'll see you again." I said and she smiled.

"Thanks bellie-bear, I needed that." She said gratefully.

"I thought about slapping you for a second. You know like in the movies when a friend slaps another friend for going nuts." I said and she frowned.

"Well thank god you didn't. My face is too cute to get slapped." She said with a cute smile. Since we had nothing else to do, we cleaned the house for Renee. By the time we finished sweeping, scrubbing and mopping, I was exhausted. Alice went to make us some lemonade while I started on the laundry.

"I'm just about ready to pass out." Alice said and handed me a glass of lemonade. We sat around and relaxed for five minutes, then got back to the laundry. We washed 4 loads. When the first load was done, I moved the clothes to the dryer while Alice loaded up the washer with the second load.

Alice finished folding the last of the clothes while I went into the kitchen and made lasagna and garlic bread for dinner. After a long debate on what we wanted for dessert, we settled for lemon pie with ice cream. When Renee got home, everything was done. The house was spotless, the clothes had been washed, dried, ironed and folded, dinner was complete and dessert was nearly ready.

"Hmmm, it smells delicious in here. This is the cleanest I've ever seen this house." Renee said when she entered the kitchen.

"Go change and wash your hands while we set the table." Alice said and shooed her out of the kitchen. Renee had been great these last couple days, so she really deserved this. Alice set the table as I brought out the lasagna and pulled out the pie to let it cool. Alice pulled out the garlic bread and placed it in a bread basket.

We took our seats and waited for Renee. Once she sat down, we began eating. "How was your day with your friends?" I asked as I placed a square of lasagna on my plate.

"Wonderful. We to a café for a bit, then we went shopping for scented candles. We later went to yoga and ended our day with book club." She said and took a sip of lemonade.

"Sounds fun." Alice commented.

After dinner, we cleared the table and brought out dessert. "Dinner was delicious guys, absolutely amazing." Renee complimented. A wide smile stretched across her face when she tasted the pie. "This pie tastes like pure heaven." She said appreciatively.

We chatted about random nothings as we finished eating and put the dishes in the dishwasher. "How early do you have to be at the airport?" Renee asked. "I want to get a flight for Louisiana that leaves right after your flight."

"Our flight leave at 7:20 a.m. We should probably leave here at around 6:30." I said as she purchased her ticket online.

"Alright, set your alarm for 5, that way you'll have time to get ready." She said and kissed us goodnight. After brushing our teeth, I set the alarm and we went to bed. "Are you asleep?" Alice whispered.

"No." I whispered back.

"I'm somewhat nervous and a bit excited." She whispered back.

I turned on my side and faced her. "About what?" I asked.

"I'm nervous about seeing Jasper and excited to put an end to Rosalie and her minions." She whispered.

"You say 'put an end to Rosalie' like we're going to kill her and throw her body in a dumpster or something." I said and she giggled.

"I was going to say throw her in the ocean once we're done but a dumpster works too." She said. I bit my tongue to keep from laughing.

"You're unbelievable. Don't be nervous. We'll be fine." I said and she hugged me.

"Thanks Bella." She said and we went to sleep.

* * *

**A/N:** Hope you liked it :) Leave a review :) I'm almost done with the next chapter…that should be up soon :D


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:** I'm so very sorry for the long wait. My computer was infected with Viruses and when I suggested we take it to get cleaned; my uncle tried doing it himself. Needless to say, he failed miserably. This chapter is about 2,000 words longer than usual because I felt bad for making you wait. Enjoy!

**DISCLAIMER:** Carlisle totally owns me even though I don't own jack!

The alarm went off and I reached over to turn it off. I didn't realized how close to the edge of the bed I was till I knocked the alarm over and fell out bed. I landed on the alarm clock and hissed in pain. I got up and walked over to the mirror and inspected my stomach. I could already tell that I would end up with a bruise. "Fuck." I hissed as I ran my hand over the tender spot.

"What's wrong?" Alice asked from the bed, as she stretched her arms out over her head.

"I fell off the bed and landed on the stupid clock. It'll bruise up soon." I said and lowered my shirt.

"I can go get you some ice if you want?" She offered.

"No, it's okay. I'm fine. I'll just get some warm water on it while I shower." I said.

"Oh thank god. For a second, I thought I would have to get up and walk all the way to the kitchen to get ice." She said, sounding very relieved.

I grabbed my clothes and brushed my teeth while I waited for Alice to shower. When she finished, I hopped in and shaved. I took my time washing my hair and lathering up my body. After my shower, I blow dried my hair and put it in a ponytail. I didn't mind the length of my hair anymore. I kind of liked it long.

I put on some lotion, got dressed and helped Alice haul our stuff out to Renee's car. Renee tossed her bag in the front seat and we grabbed a quick breakfast, which consisted of eggs and bacon, and chocolate muffins. Hmmm.

"Alright, let's get going, its 6:40." Renee said as she took a bite of her muffin. She locked the doors and made sure the windows were shut tight. After locking the front door, we were on our way to the airport. When we got to the airport, we checked in our luggage and checked our flight schedule. Once we were sure everything was fine, we got coffee from Starbucks and waited for our plane to board.

"I'll miss having you guys around." Renee said with watery eyes.

"Don't cry. You still have your yoga buddies." Alice said and hugged her.

"We're only a phone call away." I said and hugged her too.

We stayed in our group hug until it was time for us to board the plane. "Bye. I love you both." Renee said and wiped her tears away.

"I love you too." I said back.

"I love you more." Alice said.

Alice and I walked off to board our plane, constantly glancing back to look at Renee. She waved at us before taking off and heading to board her plane. "This was fun." Alice said.

"I know." I replied, pulling her into a hug.

"I like traveling with you." She said. "I have to go tinkle." She said and headed off to the bathroom.

We handed our ticket to the flight attendant at the entrance, and then went to our seats. A woman with a baby took the seat next to me. She smiled at me and I smiled back. I looked at the baby and was completely mesmerized. The baby was sleeping peacefully and soundlessly. My heart tightened a couple times. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever experienced while looking at an infant. The baby shifted in the woman's arms and woke up crying. The cry was nearly inaudible. The baby stopped crying as if it knew I was watching it. It cooed and turned its head to look at me.

"Would you like to hold him?" The woman asked me kindly. She must have noticed me gawking at her baby. I looked up, a bit unsure and she smiled.

"If it's okay with you." I responded and she nodded. I opened my arms and she handed me the baby. He was so damn adorable. His light green eyes gazed at me and he shifted in my arms. I panicked a bit when he wiggled around. I stiffened when I realized he might cry again. I relaxed though when he smiled and cooed.

"Awww. Where'd you get the baby? I want one." Alice said and crouched down to take a closer look at the infant.

"His name is Nathan." The woman said with a smile.

"Nathan is so cute. You better watch out we might just steal him from you." Alice joked and the woman laughed. "I'm Alice. The crazy chick holding Nathan is my best friend Bella." Alice introduced us.

"I'm Susan." The woman said and shook Alice's hand.

"I'm sorry, I'm so rude. I didn't even introduce myself. I've been gawking at your baby this entire time and didn't even have the decency to tell you my name." I apologized and Susan nodded in understanding.

"Can I touch him?" Alice asked with an excited grin.

"Of course." Susan said.

Alice reached down and caressed Nathan's chubby cheek with her index finger. Nathan reached up and grabbed a hold of her finger. He wrapped his tiny hand around Alice's finger and tugged on it. Alice giggled. "You're such a cute baby. Yes you are." She cooed and he smiled.

Right before the plane took off, I handed Nathan back to Susan and Alice took her seat. Susan was a nice lady. She was heading up to South Carolina to be with her husband who was in the army and had got them a house on the base.

"Oh my god! You totally remind me of the ladies in Army Wives." Alice squealed. "Who knows, you might get your own show." She rambled. About two and a half hours later, the plane landed in South Carolina and it was bye-bye to Susan and Nathan. "It was nice meeting you two ladies." Susan said before leaving.

"Now I want a baby. Ugh, Nathan was so cute. I swear, for a while, I actually contemplated stealing him." Alice gushed. For the next four and a half hours, Alice and I relaxed and listened to my IPod. I slowly drifted off to sleep and was woken up by Alice.

"We're in Seattle." Alice announced cheerfully as she shook me.

As soon as we were directed to, we grabbed our purses and eagerly got off the plane. Alice latched onto my arm as we walked around looking for Esme. "I'm so happy." Alice said and gripped my arm tighter.

"I can tell. You're about to detach my arm from my body." I said and she gave me a sour look. "There they are." I pointed. Esme was standing by Charlie and Carlisle and they were talking. We ran over to where they were standing and hugged them.

"Oh my god, you girls look so beautiful. Your hair, your tans; everything looks good." Esme said.

"Thanks." I said and blushed as usual.

After we found our bags and made sure we had everything, we walked out to the parking lot. "I'll see you tomorrow right?" Alice asked.

"Of course." I replied and hugged her. I hugged Carlisle and Esme, then took off with Charlie. "How are you Bells?" He asked as he loaded my bags into the car.

"I'm great. It was amazing. I had a total blast." I said and he smiled. "Mom says hi and she asked me to thank you for suggesting Alice and I go see her." I said and he smiled again.

"You want to drive or are you too tired?" He asked.

"Are you kidding? Of course I want to drive." I said excitedly and practically snatched the keys from him. He chuckled as he got in the passenger seat and tightened his seat belt. I started up the car and drove to the parking exit. I paid the $5 dollar parking fee and sped off.

"Can I spend the night at Alice's tomorrow night?" I asked Charlie.

"Only if it's alright with Esme and Carlisle." He said. "Billy and Jacob said hi. Which reminds me by the way, Harry, Billy and I are taking Harry's new boat out for a spin tomorrow." He said with a grin.

"Middle aged men and their fishing." I said and he chuckled.

"A young man dropped off a few homework assignments for you. He stopped by the house twice to see if you were alright. He was apparently worried that you hadn't been to school in a while." Charlie said and I blushed furiously. My heart skipped a couple beats and my stomach did flips. I prayed to god it was Emmett who had come by.

"That's nice, I suppose." I said calmly and Charlie smiled. He could see right through me.

"I didn't know if you wanted him to know where you were, so all I told him was that you were with your mom in Florida." Charlie said with a chuckle. I knew there was more than he was letting on.

"What else did you tell him dad?" I questioned suspiciously.

"Nothing. I just said you were with your mom." He said innocently.

"And?" I pressed.

He sighed and chuckled. "He wanted to know if you had moved there permanently or if you were coming back." He responded and I waited for him to continue. I glared at him when he didn't say anything else.

"And?" I pushed further.

"I told him I wasn't sure if you were ever coming back." He said and I reached over to hit his arm.

"Why would you tell him that?" I whined.

Charlie laughed and shrugged. "I figured he wouldn't come back to bother me after that." He said. "But unfortunately, he was back the very next day, asking if I was positive you had moved." He laughed again when I narrowed my eyes at him.

"What'd you tell him?" I asked and slowed down for a red light.

"The same as the day before. That I didn't know whether you were ever coming back. I told him I would call you and ask, then I would let him know if you were coming back." He said with a smug smile. The light went green and I kept driving.

"Did you ever tell him I was coming back?" I asked, panicked.

"Nope." He said and laughed again. He covered up his laugh by coughing when he realized I was still glaring at him.

"You are unbelievable." I said and he smiled.

"Oh come on Bells. Give me a break, I was only messing around with him." Charlie said with a bright smile.

"Don't smile at me. He doesn't know you were kidding." I whined again.

"Lighten up. He'll see you at school on Monday and realize I was only joking." Charlie said and playfully punched my arm.

"If he won't talk to me because he thinks I abandoned him without saying anything, I'll never talk to you again." I said. Charlie made a goofy face and I had to fight to keep an angry face.

"He won't think you abandoned him. It's not like he's your boyfriend or anything." Charlie said. When I stayed quiet he gasped dramatically. "He's your boyfriend isn't he?" He asked.

"No." I said and Charlie smiled.

"Isn't he too old for you?" He asked.

"No dad. He's a senior and so am I." I said quickly.

"He looks 25." He argued.

"No he doesn't." I said back. "He's just well built. He has a very fit, athletic body." I said with a stupid grin and a light blush.

"Bella?" Charlie said with an annoyed look.

"Yes?"

"I could have gone on happily with the rest of my life without hearing that." He said and I smiled.

"Just making sure you knew." I said and he opened a can of coke.

"So, you have a boyfriend huh?" He asked and I blushed again.

"Are we really talking about my love life, or lack thereof in my case." I asked.

"Alright, just don't make me give you _'the talk'_." He said and I felt relieved. "You can spare us both the embarrassment and talk to your mom before you do anything." He said and blushed. He took a drink of his soda and looked out his window. He dropped the subject and for that I was grateful.

"How did you manage to eat?" I asked, remembering that he had no cooking skills whatsoever.

"I managed. I'm not as bad a cook as you think." He said proudly.

"Dad, you burnt Ramen Noodles in the microwave." I pointed out and is eyes narrowed into slits.

"That was once. You can't let that go can you?" He asked annoyed.

"I'll never let that go." I replied.

"The first few days I worked late, so I grabbed dinner with the guys at work. After that, Sue made dinner for me and Billy to take home with us." He said.

I laughed and shook my head. "And you wanted me to believe you had managed in the kitchen." I said.

"I'll cook one of these days and show you I'm not that bad." He said and I shrieked.

"If you ever make dinner, I'm calling the police and having you arrested for attempted murder." I said and he laughed. Before long, we were back in Forks and I was pulling up our driveway. We got out of the car and I took a few seconds to stretch. Charlie helped me take my bags upstairs, then ordered pizza.

We ate and watched Jersey Shore for a bit. "There is no way you can sit here and watch this crap without losing brain cells." Charlie commented and I laughed.

"Alice and I are going to upgrade our phones tomorrow. Do you want me to upgrade yours?" I asked as I cleaned up and brought him back a few beers.

"Nope. I like this phone." He said and shook his blackberry pearl. I rolled my eyes. I had a strong hatred for his phone. Every time I needed to use it, it wouldn't work. "How much do you need for your phone?" He asked, offering to pay for the upgrade.

"Don't worry about it dad. I'll pay for it." I said.

"You sure?" He asked, focusing on the game on tv.

"Yeah. I'll see you later dad." I said and kissed his cheek before heading up to my room. I had sort of missed my room. It was good to be home again. I unpacked all my luggage and organized my stuff. I hung some clothes and folded the rest. All the body washes went on the middle shelf in my closet. I put the perfumes and lotions on the shelf next to the body washes. All my new shoes went over next to my other shoes.

I was exhausted after putting everything in its rightful place. I checked the laundry room to see if there were any clothes to wash. I was surprised to find that the laundry room was clean and clear of any dirty clothes. "Dad?" I called from the top of the stairs.

"Yeah?" He answered.

"Did you do the laundry?" I asked.

"Yeah." He said and I was even more shocked.

"Who are you and what have you done with the real Charlie?" I asked and he laughed. "Thanks." I said.

"No problem. I can avoid the laundry for only so much time before I run out of clean clothes." He said and turned back to his game.

"I grabbed my pajamas, along with a towel and went to shower. After showering and getting dressed, I went back to my room to lay down for a bit. I looked over at my alarm clock and it was only 10:55 a.m. I closed my eyes and fell asleep.

I opened my eyes to a harsh sunlight flooding in through my curtains. I rolled out of bed and went to the bathroom. I brushed my teeth and changed out into black shorts and a red polo shirt. My phone vibrated on my dresser and scared the hell out of me. I put my hand over my heart, as if that would slow it down, and picked up my phone. The battery was low so I hooked it up to the charger.

I opened the text from Charlie.

"You want a ride to Alice's?"  
-Dad

I texted him a quick yes and put on my favorite red socks, along with my black vans. I put on my sunglasses and stuffed my phone and house keys in my bag. I went downstairs and Charlie handed me a warm muffin and a hot Starbucks coffee.

"Thanks dad." I said and sipped the coffee. Hmmm Caramel Macchiato…Warm and delicious. "This coffee is amazing." I said and took another sip.

"I didn't know what to get you so I asked the girl who took my order. She said you might like it." He said and strapped on his gun and his handcuffs. He gave me the car keys and grabbed his bag.

We went out to the car and I drove to Alice's. When we neared her house, I texted Alice and let her know I was near. I pulled into the Brandon's driveway and got out of the cruiser. Charlie got out and walked to the driver's side. "Bye dad." I said and hugged him.

"See you on Monday Bells." He said and went to work. I relinquished knocking and walked right into Alice's house. "Honey, I'm home." I called out to Alice when I walked in.

"I'm in here." Carlisle yelled. What is it with this family? They're constantly embarrassing me.

"We're in the kitchen Bella." Esme called out to me. I went into the kitchen and Alice smiled and looked over at Carlisle. "Well, there's your honey. Won't you say hi to him?" Alice said with a wink and I turned red. Esme smiled and turned away when I frowned at her. Alice knew a dirty little secret that involved Carlisle and she would secretly tease me about it.

"Don't mind them sweetheart." Carlisle said to embarrass me further and Alice busted out laughing.

"I really hate you." I said to Carlisle.

"Sure." He said sarcastically and put on his coat.

"Did you tell him?" I nearly shrieked.

"Bella he's bluffing. He's just a dirty lying liar that lies." She said and shot her dad a glare. "I never told him anything, he's just being immature." She said as Carlisle kissed Esme goodbye and went to work.

I've thought that Carlisle was handsome since the very first time I met him. About two years ago, while I was sleeping over at Alice's, I woke up in the middle of the night and went downstairs to get some water. I _fortunately_ got more than I bargained for. On my way back up, I saw the door to Carlisle's study partly open. I heard a grunt and sneaked over to check it out. What I saw blessed my virgin eyes.

Carlisle was sitting on the couch, with his boxers around his ankles, jerking off to some porn. This was the first time I had seen anyone masturbate. His head fell back and he bit his bottom lip. He grunted a few more times before moaning loudly and relaxing. My breathing got heavier and caught in my throat and I nearly fainted. I quietly tiptoed back to Alice's room and tried to sleep. Sleep never came that night. In fact, I didn't sleep for the next three days, and when I finally did start sleeping again, all I dreamt about was Carlisle.

I wanted to tell Alice but I just couldn't. I was scared she would freak out or say that I was lying. After that incident, I could barely look Carlisle in the eyes. Alice noticed my discomfort around her dad and questioned me about it. I had known that I would eventually have to tell her, I just never thought she would notice the change in my behavior around her dad so soon.

When I finally built up the courage to tell her, she was shocked beyond belief and was grossed out. She got Carlisle to hang out around the house whenever I would come over, so I could get over the embarrassment of what I'd seen. The discomfort eventually wore off, but my crush on him only grew bigger. Carlisle probably knows by now that I've been majorly crushing on him, but I would be mortified if he ever found out I saw him masturbate. Even worse if he found out I enjoyed it. I don't even want to think about how Esme would react.

Alice pulled me into one of the far corners of the living room. "I swear I didn't say a word." She reassured me. I was stupid for even thinking she had said anything. I shouldn't have doubted her for a second.

"I'm sorry Alice, I was being very stupid. I can't help that I'm so attracted to that godly hunk you call your father. God forgive what I'm about to say, but damn that man is one gorgeous piece of ass." I said breathlessly. Just simply thinking of him makes me breathe like I just ran a freaking marathon.

Alice rolled her eyes and made a face. "Ewww! You're forgiven as long as you don't ever refer to him as a godly hunk ever again, or a gorgeous piece of ass. EVER." She said and pulled me into a hug. "You're gross but totally forgiven. I would have probably jumped off a building if I saw what you had to witness." She said and made gagging noises.

"You girls ready to go?" Esme asked as she reached for her jacket.

"Yeah. Do you mind if we barrow the car afterwards? We have a few errands to run." Alice asked Esme.

"Sure. Just drop me off at Roxana's before you take the car." Esme said. "She got some wonderful new décor. We'll be working on decorations all day." She said excitedly.

We got in the car and Esme drove us down to AT&T. When we walked in, we ran straight to the IPhones. I got a black on with a silver case and Alice got a black one with a baby blue case. After paying for our phones, we went back to the car and went to the grocery store so Esme could pick up a few things.

Once we arrived at Roxana's house, we helped Esme carry the stuff inside.

"When do you think you'll need the car back?" I asked Esme.

There's no hurry, so don't rush. Go ahead and take your time. When I finish up here, I'll have Roxana take me home." She said and shooed us off.

"We should probably stop by the diner and talk to Julie. Will you call her and see if she's busy?" Alice said as she pulled out of the driveway and sped down the street. I pulled out my old phone and dialed Julie's number. She answered on the second ring.

"Hello?" She said.

"Hi Julie, its Bella." I said back.

"Oh, hey Bella. How was the trip?" She asked.

"It was great, thanks for asking." I said.

"Sure. So, what can I do for you honey?" She asked.

"I wanted to know if you were busy." I said nervously, hoping she would agree to help.

"Nope, not really. Is everything alright?" She asked, sounding a bit worried.

"Yeah, everything's fine. Alice and I are trying to get water and Gatorade donations for our school football team and we figured since your brother works for the Gatorade Company, we'd ask you for help. So, you think you could help us out?" I asked and waited for her response, praying she wouldn't say no.

"Of course. What you guys are doing is awesome, I'd love to help. Let me talk to Tommy and see how much Gatorade I can hook you up with. Go on and stop by the diner later this afternoon and I'll have something figured out by then." She said.

"Thanks a bunch Julie. We owe you big time." I thanked her repeatedly.

"Don't worry about it kiddo. I'm glad to help you guys out." She said. "I'll see you guys later."

"Okay, bye." I said and hung up.

"Well?" Alice asked the second I hung up.

"She'll talk to her brother and see if he can deliver some Gatorade. She wants us to meet her at the diner later this afternoon." I said and Alice beamed.

"Okay, so now that phase: 1 is complete, we can go to the grocery store and complete phase: 2." She said with a grin. She made a sharp U-turn and sped off towards the grocery stores. Tons of cars honked at her because there were two signs that said no U-turns were allowed at that stoplight.

She ignored the angry drivers and sped up. I rolled my window down and let the wind rush through my hair. Alice and I enjoyed the rush we got from speeding. Driving like maniacs is just one of our many talents. I'm most comfortable when I'm behind the wheel. That's when I'm untouchable.

Alice pulled into a parking space and we went into the grocery store. We went up to one of the registers and were greeted by the cashier. "Hi, can we speak to the manager?" Alice asked the cashier.

"Is anything wrong?" The girl asked Alice. The poor girl got very tense.

"Nope. We just need to ask for a favor and discuss a few things." Alice said and the girl relaxed considerably. She looked way more relieved.

"I'll show you to his office." She said and led the way. "Here we are." She announced and stopped in front of a door. Alice gave her a look and she left.

I knocked on the door and there was no answer. "Maybe we should come back later." I said to Alice.

"If he isn't here we'll just wait for him." She replied and pushed the door open.

"Alice! We can't walk in there without permission." I said and she sighed.

"Watch me." She said daringly.

I walked in and took a seat meant for the customers. Alice on the other hand sat in the manager's seat and began looking through his stuff. "Alice! Stop it. It's bad enough that we're in here, but now you have to look through the man's stuff?" I said and she closed the file cabinet, only to open another one.

"What he doesn't know won't kill him." She said and began looking through his computer.

"Can you believe he just leaves his computer signed on? What kind of moron does that? Anyone could walk in here and look through his computer." She said.

"You mean like you're doing right now?" I questioned.

"Bella, you and I both know I'm just nosy. I wouldn't do anything with any of the information on his computer. Some psychopath on the other hand can come up with some evil scheme to take over the store or something, and I bet they could find information on how to do it on this computer." She said, defending herself.

"I don't know where the hell you come up with these random scenarios." I said and she laughed.

The store manager walked in and looked surprised to see us, although I would be too, if I walked into my office to find two random strangers waiting for me.

"Who are you?" He asked. From the sound of his heavy breathing, I could tell we had startled him.

"I'm Alice and that's my friend Bella." Alice told him. "Have a seat." She told him and motioned to a chair as if she ran the place. "You can take the chair across from Bella. I would give you back your seat, but it's just too comfortable." She said and he gave her an odd look, before taking the seat she had pointed out.

"We have a favor to ask." I began.

"Is this favor a big one or a small one?" He asked.

"Depends on how you look at it." Alice said with a smile.

"I'm listening." He said and gave us his attention.

"Okay, so Alice and I are trying to help support our football team. One of the things we want is for them to eat healthy." I said and he nodded. "We wanted to know if we could make some kind of deal and get discounts on a few items, such as granola bars, oranges and apples and water." I said.

"Or better yet, you could give us those things for free." Alice threw in. "And in return, we could talk to our principle and see if you can get a certificate or something. We can also put up flyers at the diner to pimp out your store." Alice said. He actually looked like he was thinking about it.

"We'll also give you 3% of the profit we make from car washes and football events." Alice said. That seemed to be the deal breaker for him.

"Alright." He said and shook Alice's hand. He then reached over and shook my hand. Alice and I went to get a cart and got tons of boxes of granola bars, a few dozen cases of water, and some fruits. The manager and another employee helped us load up the stuff in the car and we were on our way.

We stopped by Alice's house to put the fruits in the fridge, then went down to Port Angeles. We walked around the shops and just looked around for a bit. "You hungry?" Alice asked when my stomach growled.

"Yeah, let's get some grub."

We went to a nice Italian restaurant and enjoyed ourselves. Once we finished eating, we stopped by my place and picked out the clothes I would wear the next day, then went to Alice's house. We called Esme to see how far she had gotten with the decorations. She said she was far from done, but not to worry about her. Carlisle would pick her up, since she wouldn't finish till later on.

Since we had plenty of time till we had to meet Julie, we got started on the homework we missed. We got more than halfway through before we had to head to the diner. We unloaded all the water and granola bars from the car before leaving. This time Alice gave me the keys and let me drive. I loved driving Esme's car. So much horsepower in a car kinda turned me on. I'm a total car freak but I don't even care.

"Ready?" I asked Alice as she strapped on her seatbelt.

"Hell yeah. Floor it." She squealed excitedly.

I pushed down on the gas and we zoomed off, leaving dust in our trail. We made it to the diner in seven minutes. I pulled into a parking space and hopped out. We were greeted by Jim and Sean the second we walked through the door. "How the hell are you guys?" Jim asked after crushing Alice and I with hugs.

"Excellent now." I said with a big goofy smile. The diner was like home, and I always felt great when I was here. I gasped when I noticed all the changes that had been made. There were huge plasma screen TVs on some of the walls. There was a bar at the far left corner of the diner.

"What happened here?" Alice asked.

"You like it?" Julie asked as she walked over.

"Jeez, it's amazing." I said, still looking around.

"It's fantabulous." Alice agreed.

"We decided it would bring in more money if we turned it into a sports bar." Julie said. "The right side is a diner. People can still enjoy their meals, while on the left side everyone over 21 can purchase alcohol." Julie said.

"WOWERZ!" Alice said in amazement.

"John and I will work the bar and you guys will work the diner." Julie said with a smile. "The grand re-opening is tomorrow afternoon." She said excitedly.

"Does a person who wants to hang out on that side have to be 21?" Alice asked.

"No. You just have to be 21 to purchase an alcoholic beverage. Anyone can hang out and watch tv and eat over there." She said. "We will have to enforce that no one drives after they've been drinking." She said.

"Oooh, Bella and I can collect car keys for those who drink. At the end of the night they can take a breathalyzer. If they pass, they get their keys back. If not, we keep their keys overnight and they can call a cab." Alice suggested. Julie smiled and clapped.

"That's genius." She said. "Come on, I got Tommy to deliver the Gatorade. It's in the kitchen." She said and went to the kitchen. Jim and Sean helped us load the Gatorade into the car.

"Thanks a bunch Julie." I said and hugged her. "Thanks for helping us load the drinks." I said and hugged Sean and Jim.

"You have the same shifts as before. Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays starting at 4:30 p.m." Julie reminded us before we left. This worked out great. We get out of school at 1:15 p.m. and practice lets out at 4:15. That gave us fifteen minutes to get to work. This couldn't be any more flawless.

We got to Alice's house and unloaded the Gatorades into her garage, next to the granola bars and the water. "You want to go for a jog?" Alice asked. "If we'll be helping the football team, we might as well get into shape."

"Alright, let's go change. Heat up the pool so we can swim when we get back." I said before we went up to change. We put on our workout clothes and our jogging shoes. I took the IPhones out from the boxes they came in and hooked them on to the chargers. Alice went to warm up the pool while I grabbed us two water bottles. Alice grabbed our IPods on her way out and locked up the house.

I set my IPod to shuffle and strapped it to my arm. I put on ear bud in my ear and let the other one hang so I could hear Alice if she started talking to me. She did the same thing and we began out jog. "How far do you think we'll make it?" She asked.

"Let's try to go all the way to school and back." I said.

"You're definitely trying to kill us." She replied with a grin.

"Let's just go till we're tired then." I said and she agreed. By the time we made it to my house, we were exhausted. Alice lived at least 3 ½ miles away from me. We decided since we had made it all the way to my house, we might as well push a few more blocks and go to school. We took a second to catch our breaths and get a drink.

I swear I was seeing stars when we made it to the school parking lot. We collapsed then and there. I moved into a sitting position and helped Alice sit up. A few guys were skating around, staring at us. Alice got up and began stretching.

"They're checking you out." I pointed out.

She giggled and waved her hand dismissively. "Since they're looking, I might as well give them a show."

I threw my water bottle at her and she dodged it. "Here." She said and tossed me back my bottle.

"Let's get out of here before they start drooling." I said and we took off. We managed to make it back to Alice's with only one rest stop. I was proud that we weren't as out of shape as I originally thought we were.

"That wasn't so bad." Alice said.

"Yeah right. I'll be sore for days." I said and she laughed.

"Is anyone home?" I shouted when we walked in.

"I'm in the kitchen." Carlisle called. Something smelled very good.

As we neared the kitchen, the aroma intensified.

"Oh dear god." He said when we walked into the kitchen.

"What?" Alice asked.

"I can't believe you went out dressed like that. You are aware of the male population living in Forks right?" He asked.

"Oh, don't give yourself a heart attack dad." Alice said and went to the fridge to get us more water.

"Will you be joining us for dinner Bella?" Carlisle asked and I nodded.

"I'm spending the night." I said. "If that's okay with you, of course." I added and he smiled.

"You're always welcome here, you know that." He said and I'm pretty sure I blushed.

"Thanks." I said and chugged down the water Alice gave me.

"When are you planning on telling you mother about that?" Carlisle asked, pointing to Alice's bellybutton piercing. Oh crap, how could we forget about those?

"Ehh, soon enough." Alice said and took a swig of water.

"Tonight, soon enough or lie about it for a few months, soon enough?" He asked.

"All in favor for lying for a few months?" Alice asked and we both raised our hands.

"She'll find out eventually." He said. "She may as well hear it from you."

"Fine. We'll show her tonight." We gave in.

"Good. I'll let you know when I go get her. Now go shower, you both smell you've been sleeping in a dumpster." He said and we swatted his arm.

"For your information, sweaty is the new sexy." I huffed and we made our dramatic exit. We showered off and changed into our sweats and t-shirts. We finished up the rest of our homework, and then went to go mess around with our new phones.

Once we had all our contacts (which weren't many) stored to our new phones, we put them in the cases and began figuring out how to work them. My phone buzzed from a text. I didn't recognize the number but opened it anyway.

"Hey Girly"

It's Tracy :)  
Here's the other girls' numbers.

"Alice, I got a text from Tracy." I said. "She sent me the other girls' numbers."

We stored the numbers, then I texted Tracy back.

"Hey hey :D

Thanks for the numbers  
we'll keep in touch :)  
-B

I sent the text and we went downstairs. Carlisle had already left to go get Esme. I got bored while waiting for Esme and Carlisle to return, so I got on Twitter and sent out a few tweets. I then got on Facebook and updated my status and approved a few friend requests.

"Hey girls." Esme said when she walked in.

"Hi." We replied in unison.

Dinner was great. Carlisle had made and surprisingly delicious meat loaf. After dinner, we helped clear the plates and started the dishwasher. "So, we got our bellybuttons pierced while we were in Florida." Alice said, not even attempting to beat around the bush. I'm going to try and be daring like Alice. I'll just say what I feel.

She lifted her shirt and showed Esme. Esme looked at me, silently asking if I was involved in this too. I nodded and lifted my shirt to show her mine. She frowned at us. "Why would you do this to yourselves." She asked, clearly disapproving.

"It's cute." Alice said.

"We really like them." I said. "Plus Renee said we could only keep them if it was okay with you guys too." I said and shot Carlisle a pleading look. Alice caught on and did the same. Esme looked over at Carlisle and he answered her without looking away from the newspaper.

"They're only going to be teenagers once." He said and flipped the page.

When she sighed we knew she had given in. Alice and I cheered and did our happy dance one more time. "I guess we're not going swimming anymore?" Alice asked as turned off the water heater.

"Let's take a rain check." I said. We said good night to Esme and Carlisle and went up to Alice's room. We were still tired from our previous jog, so we set the alarm and went right to sleep.

* * *

**A/N: **I got a PM from a very bitter person bashing my story. I write for the people who want to read. If this story ain't your cup of tea, I suggest you stop reading. About 98% of this story is based on me and my friend. I changed a few things up so it could fit Twilight…Sort of… The Drama begins in the next chapter. The Characters will get very out of character, so if you don't like that I suggest you don't read the next update. Pictures of the IPhones are on my profile:) I can has reviews from you? Pwease?


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. If I did, I would have an indoor pool. Carlisle owns me :)

I woke up to the shrill ringing of the alarm clock . Alice reached over and pushed the clock off the nightstand. Once it hit the ground, all became silent. I normally would have gladly went back to sleep, but this was the first time in over a week that I was going to see Emmett, and I was fucking ecstatic.

"Hey Alice, you don't want to miss out on seeing Jasper do you?" I said and she shot up. She got out of the bed and immediately began heating up curling irons. I picked the alarm up off the floor and placed it back on the nightstand. It was only 4:30 in the morning and classes didn't start till 7:20.

"Bella, go shower while I set out our clothes and brush my teeth." She said.

I looked in her closet and got the raspberries and cream body wash. I showered and shaved as fast as I could. I washed my hair three times, just to make sure it smelled good. As soon as I got out of the shower, Alice jumped in and I brushed my teeth. I dried off, secured the towel around my torso and picked out our shoes. I made sure our bags had all our books and schoolwork in them.

When Alice got out of the shower, she dried off and we blow dried our hair. She straightened my hair and I straightened hers. Once our hair was perfectly straight, we put on lotion and body spray and got dressed in a flash. "Here, sit down and let me do your hair." Alice said as she pulled a chair in front of her mirror. She curled my hair perfectly and left my bangs straight.

Afterwards, she took a seat and I curled her hair. After applying hairspray to our hair to make sure it would hold throughout the day, we were ready to go. We spritzed on a little body spray and applied a very light layer of makeup. After putting on some lip gloss, we double checked ourselves in the mirror and grabbed our bags.

We put our sunglasses in our bags and grabbed our phones. We went downstairs and waited for Esme to finish getting ready. Carlisle had already left for work. Alice texted him, asking him to bring the granola bars, fruits and drinks for us after school.

"Don't you girls look all dolled up this morning." Esme said when she saw us. "Your hair looks absolutely beautiful girls." She complimented.

"Thanks." I said.

"Dressing up for your boyfriends?" She asked and I blushed.

"Where'd you hear that?" Alice asked.

"Don't think for a second that Renee doesn't fill me in on stuff." She said and grabbed her car keys. We stopped by the dinner to get some coffee and muffins. We ate the muffins and slowly sipped our coffee. I could tell Alice was just as nervous as I was.

When Esme pulled into the parking lot, my stomach did flips. She stopped right at the front of the school. Alice looked at me and I gulped.

"Let's do this." Alice said. "Operation T.O.T.A.R. is in action. Channel your inner hate for those whores and let's do this." Alice said.

"Watch your mouth Alice." Esme smiled. "You girls will be fine."

I did what Alice suggested and channeled my inner hate. I felt fine. People looked at the car, because it was no doubt one of the nicest in the lot.

"Let's do this mama." I said and Alice grinned. I grabbed my coffee and stepped out of the car at the same time as Alice did. Esme stepped out of the car and we kissed her goodbye. She got back in the car and sped away.

"Think fierce Bella. Think bitch." Alice said as we began walking away from the parking lot and towards the school. Alice walked with grace and sipped her coffee.

"Bella, you're freaking sexy. You just have to let yourself feel it." Alice said and fixed my bangs.

I took a deep breath and let go of all my insecurities. With a quick nudge of my head, my hair flipped and bounced. The guys ogling us only boosted my confidence. We still had about half an hour till the first period bell rang. We took a seat on the bench next to the flowers. From here, just about everyone could see us.

"There's our guys." I squealed quietly when I noticed them messing around on their skateboards.

"I spot the skanks. Let's get to work." Alice said with an evil smirk.

"Time to declare war on those bitches and claim our territory." I said and Alice gave me a weird look.

"Hmmm, I like evil, possessive Bella. She's mad sexy and she's not afraid to get what she wants." Alice chuckled. The skanks were so caught up in their conversations, they didn't notice us walking over. I was glad they hadn't seen us. It gave us the element of surprise. As cheesy as it may sound, I felt like a freaking ninja.

I dropped my bag near the steps where the guys were crowded and set my coffee on the bench. Emmett was turned around, with his back to me, and was talking animatedly with Edward, while Jasper was doing tricks on his skateboard.

I got on my tippy toes as I snuck up on Emmett. I quickly jumped on his back, put my hands over his eyes and laced my fingers together. He stopped talking and spun around several times. His hands went over mine. "Who is it?" He asked.

"Take a wild guess." I whispered in what I hoped was a seductive voice. I made sure my cool breath tickled his ear when I whispered.

He reached backward and held my sides. His hands traveled down to my ass and he gave a light squeeze. "Jazz, man if that's you on my back, covering my eyes; you should know that I officially think you have a nice firm ass and you're giving me a killer boner." He said and I couldn't hold back the giggles.

"Beautiful, I thought you moved." He said excitedly and I slightly moved my right hand. The second my grip loosened, he swung me off his back and pressed his body up against mine. A smile formed across his face when his eyes opened.

"Beautiful!" He yelled in surprise and tightened his arms around me.

"How'd you know?" I asked, surprised that he guessed right, especially after my dad told him I'd moved away and didn't know if I was ever coming back.

"I mean Jazz turns me on sometimes, but only you give me butterflies and make me nervous like that." He said with a light blush dusted across his cheeks. "I was crushed when I heard you moved. I was kinda pissed too, cuz I didn't have your number or anything."

I looked over at Alice and smiled. She wasted no time claiming Jasper. He was sitting on the curb of the sidewalk and Alice was straddling him. They were happily making out, completely unaware of their surroundings.

Emmett cupped my cheek and gazed into my eyes for what felt like an eternity before he leaned down and kissed me softly. I saw shooting stars and fireworks when our lips touched. A kiss that started out slow and affectionate, became wild and needy. I finally pulled back to get some air and he smiled down at me.

"God, you don't know how long I've wanted to do that." He said and caressed my cheek. I blushed, which in turn made him blush a little.

"What the fuck are _they_ doing here? I thought those freaks left!" Tanya seethed. I could practically see the wheels turning in Rosalie's head. Alice walked over, holding Jasper's hand.

"I really dig your tan Bella." Jasper complimented and kissed Alice's cheek. I liked Jasper. He was chill and really laid back. As long as there are no problems, he stays cool and won't start shit.

"Thanks Jazz." I used the nickname Rosalie used on him and she glared at me. I ignored her and kept on smiling. "A little fun in the sun results in great tans. I prefer golden caramel to pale and pasty." I said. He and Emmett laughed and my stomach did flips. It's a good thing if Emmett likes me, but it's a bonus if his friends like me and see how good I am for him. I took note of that.

"You guys want to hang out after school? We can go to the diner and just talk. Like reconnect and stuff. Food's on us." I said cheerfully.

"Sweet. I'm there." Jasper said and Alice's eyes lit up.

I looked up at Emmett questioningly. "We have practice." He said and Jasper frowned.

"Shit I even forgot." Jasper said.

"We have to stop by and deliver a few things to your coach after school. We can wait up for you if you'd like." Alice said and the guys cheered up.

"You girls are heaven." Jasper said with a glint in his eyes.

"Will you show us to your coach's room?" I asked and Emmett nodded.

"What the fuck? We're supposed to hang out before school starts and after school." Rosalie snapped.

"Calm down Rosie, we'll be right back." Jasper said and kissed her cheek. She wiped her face and glared at him.

I grabbed my coffee and purposely left my bag behind. Edward took off on his skateboard and joined some other skaters; he hadn't said anything since Alice and I showed up. As we walked away I stopped and looked back. "Wait for me I forgot my bag. And I think I dropped my keys." I said to Emmett and jogged back to where the skanks were huddle.

"I don't what you think you're doing swan, but this is my kingdom and we play by _my_ rules." Rosalie hissed menacingly. I gave her the coldest glare I could muster before smiling innocently.

"Not anymore princess. You're on our territory now and you'll play by our rules. Welcome to hell." I said. I ran my tongue over my cherry red lips and smirked at them before snatching my bag off the floor and turning away from them. I turned back and looked Tanya dead in the eyes. "Rule number one: Emmett. Is. Mine." I enunciated every word with a hint of venom, then turned to walk away.

Alice was right, possessive Bella does know what she wants. But best of all, she knows how to get it.

Emmett and I walked side by side, our fingers constantly brushing against one another till we made it to the coach's room. "We'll wait outside." Jasper said and pulled the door open for us. Hot and a gentleman. Alice did great.

"Knock knock." Alice said when we walked in. The coach looked up and smiled.

"How can I help you two ladies?" He asked warmly.

"We want to make you an offer you can't refuse." Alice said with a promising smile.

The coach looked at her, then at me. "All right, let's hear it."

"We want to provide your team with snacks such as granola bars, yogurt, fruits and refreshments such as water and Gatorade, because let's face it, their health isn't in tip top shape, what with all the crap food they eat." I said and he blinked a few times. "If you expect the team to play well, then we should make sure they get and stay healthy."

"What's the catch?" He asked.

"We want to be your teams' water girls." Alice said.

"That means we get instant access to every home and away game and every practice." I said.

"Okay—" He began to say but Alice cut him off.

"And we get to be in charge of fundraisers, like carwashes, which means we also get a say in how the money we make is spent. Bella is good with first aid in case of minor injuries, so she can be like mini doc." Alice threw in her final demand.

"If we can do this on our terms, we will supply your team with food and drinks till the end of the season." I said and he nodded.

"You girls sure know how to bargain." He said.

"The trick is to grab your opponent by the balls and squeeze until they surrender." Alice said sweetly.

"You two got a lot of spunk." He said. "You've got yourselves a deal." He said and shook our hands. This plan is working out a lot easier than I thought.

"So we're the water girls?" I asked and he nodded.

"You're hired." He said and Alice and I squealed.

"Great we'll start today." I said.

"You can't hire any other water girls though." Alice said as we headed to the door.

"Is there somewhere we can keep the food and drinks?" I asked and the coach scratched his head.

"I have a fridge in the storage room near the lockers." He said. "I could bring a few coolers too."

"Perfect. We'll stop by after school to drop the stuff off." Alice said cheerfully.

"Bye coach Hart." I said and we walked out. Emmett and Jasper were messing around on their skateboards.

"What'd you talk about?" Emmett asked.

"Nothing, just stuff. You'll most likely find out later." Alice said. "Class starts in five. We'll catch you later." She said and hauled me away. I looked back at Emmett and waved. We grabbed our books from our lockers and went off to our classes when the bell rang.

"See you in third period." Alice shouted as she ran to class.

First period dragged on. I couldn't find the strength to pay attention, let alone care about the constant whispers around me.

"You look great Bella." Mike whispered from beside me.

"Uh, thanks Mike." I said, not knowing what else to say. I turned away from him and pretended to pay attention to the teacher.

"You should go out with me some time." He said. Something inside me snapped when he said that.

"Why should I?" I asked and he looked taken aback.

"Well, you know." He said and I shook my head.

"No I don't, otherwise I wouldn't be asking." I replied.

"I complimented you. You look good and I like you. I'd like to take you out." He said.

"You don't like me Mike. You like that I changed my appearance. Had I walked in here like any other day, in sweats and a t-shirt, with no makeup on, you wouldn't have given me the time of day, so don't sit here and tell me that you like me." I said and turned away from him. He didn't talk to me again after that.

My second class was hell compared to first hour. Most of the class stared at me as if I was an extinct creature on display or something. I felt very uncomfortable, so I just pretended to pay attention to the teacher. Too bad the teacher split us into groups to continue our work. So much for my plan. The people in my group just sat there and stared at me.

After a while, they ignored me and talked amongst themselves.

'Come on Bella, get a hold of yourself. This is nothing.' I tried to give myself a pep talk. 'In order to be known, you have to know people, so sit up straight and start a conversation.' I scolded myself.

"Hey." I said and opened my textbook. "Flip to page 27, over half the answers are there." To my surprise, they actually listened. Whenever I asked them to flip to a page, they did. Some even stopped me a few times so I could explain why I chose the answers I had.

We finished before the other groups and had time to sit around and hang out.

"I really like your hair. Is that your natural color?" A blond girl asked.

"Not really. My hair is a few shades lighter." I said with a smile.

"You look like you just stepped off a photo shoot." Another girl complimented.

"Doesn't she? I love how your skin glows, that's one hell of a tan." Another girl added.

"Wow um, thanks." Talking to people wasn't as hard as I thought. As long as I kept my cool, I could do it. The teacher collected out papers and instructed us to move the desks back when the bell rang. I quickly moved my desk and headed to my third class. I was excited to see Alice and tell her my progress.

On the way to class, I bumped into Edward and his stuff fell. Did we always have to meet like this?

"What the—?"He asked but stopped when he looked up. This was the first time I'd ever seen Edward speechless, so I took advantage of it.

"Cat got your tongue?" I asked.

"Watch where you fucking walk, Bella." He said and picked up his books.

"Up yours Cullen." I said and flipped him the bird. I could have sworn he smiled before he turned around and walked away. I made it to class just as the late bell rang. I sat next to Alice and pulled out my notebook. Class passed in a blur. The second we were dismissed, Alice grabbed my arm and we took off.

"I handed in all our late work, so as soon as the teachers update the grade books, our grades are as good as new." She said.

"Thanks. I was really starting to think—" I began but stopped as I was hit with a thought. Alice turned and looked at me.

"What's wrong Bella?" She asked and felt my forehead.

"Edward called me Bella." I said and she frowned.

"So?"

"He always calls me Swan. As fate would have it, I bumped into him _again_ and his stuff fell. He called me by my name and didn't even ask me to pick up his stuff." I said and she gasped. "He even smiled when I flipped him the bird."

"Well, I guess Eddie likes what he saw. Maybe he wants you." Alice said and began moaning. I hit her when she began drawing attention to us.

"Stop it. I don't want him and he doesn't want me. He was probably just shocked." I said and walked towards the cafeteria.

"Whatever Bella. I'll snoop around and see what I can find." She said. I ignored her and continued walking. The cafeteria was packed as usual. I looked over to our usual table, but it was taken. People must have thought our absence was permanent.

"No snooping." I said but she ignored me.

We grabbed our lunches and looked around. "Time to mingle." Alice said. We found a table of random people and sat down.

"Hi, how are you." Alice said and set her tray down. Before long, we had a conversation going. We got to know the people at the table and they got to know us. After we ate our lunches, we exchanged numbers with our new friends and threw our trays away.

We went over to Emmett and Jasper's table. I was nervous because all the popular kids sat there. The football players and the cheerleaders, along with some other well known athletes. "Hey sexy." Alice said and grabbed a fistful of Jasper's hair.

He looked up and smiled at her. "Hey beautiful." He said back. Rosalie's face soured when she saw us.

"There you are." Emmett said and pulled me into his lap. "I was looking for you when lunch started." Emmett said and brushed his lips against mine.

"We sat with a few friends." I said. It felt great to be able to say that. I've never really been friends with anyone other than Alice, so it felt great to say.

"You should have sat here. I'm your friend too right?" He asked and pouted. He looked so cute. I leaned down and kissed him.

"Yeah, you're my very special friend." I purred and he smiled. His dimples were so damn sexy.

"Well, isn't this just great? I'm about to puke." Tanya announced.

"Don't worry honey. I'd want to puke too if I looked half as trashy as you do." Alice said and a few people laughed. Some others turned away so Tanya wouldn't see them smile.

"Oh, really now?" Tanya seethed.

"All I'm saying is you need a little more personality and lot less makeup. And stay away from cigarettes, you smell like an ashtray." Alice said. There was more laughter and a bunch of oooh's and ahh's.

"Ouch!" Some guy said and there was more laughter.

"You're going to wish you never said that." Tanya hissed and stormed off. Of course Rosalie and Jessica took off with her. Alice looked over and winked.

"I got your back mama." She said and leaned into Jasper.

The skanks returned shortly afterwards. Emmett introduced us to the people at the table, while the skanks sat at the edge of the table whispering to each other, coming up with ways to humiliate us no doubt. After lunch, the day went by fast.

I talked to a few people and I think some of them liked me enough to eventually be friends. I even exchanged numbers with a few people. At the end of the day, I met Alice in the bathrooms and we changed into tanks and shorts. We got a cart from the janitor and Carlisle helped us unload the drinks and snacks. We filled a cooler with ice, water bottles and Gatorade.

As we passed the boy's locker room, Alice stopped and squealed. "What is Alice?" I asked and she flashed me her "I'm horny" smile. She began walking into the boy's locker room and I yanked her back.

"Are you insane? You can't go in there. Coach Hart will flip if he finds out." I hissed and she rolled her eyes.

"I just want to see what kind of goods they're packing." She smiled. "Come on. Coach won't find out, I swear." She said and dragged me in with her. So many built, naked guys in one place should be illegal. We covered our eyes and peeked through our finger. Some guys complained and covered up, while others didn't look too surprised to see girls in the locker room. I wonder what usually goes on in here.

"McCarty! Your girlfriend's here." Someone yelled. Emmett came out from the shower area and I nearly died. He was wearing nothing but a towel around his waist. His chest was wet from his shower. I felt myself drool a little…or a lot.

"Wow! Can you say sex on legs?" Alice shouted.

"What the heck are you two doing in here?" Jasper asked as he approached us.

"Nothing, just looking around." Alice said.

"Can you help us with the cooler?" I asked.

"What cooler?" Emmett said, Confused.

"There's a cooler out in the hall. Just bring it out to the field with you okay? It was nice seeing you, but we're going to get going." I said quickly and grabbed Alice's arm. I tried to make a dash for the door, but Alice complained.

"I'm not ready to go yet." She said, but I dragged her out anyway.

"That was very uncomfortable." I said.

"You're going to have to get used to seeing naked guys if you plan on dating at all in your life Bella." Alice said, as if it were the most complex thing in the universe. When we went out to the football field, we spotted the skanks over in the bleachers watching the cheerleaders warm up.

"Let's go sit with our buddies." Alice said with a wicked grin. "Hey girls!" She shouted and waved to them as we got closer. "Mind if we join you?"

"Are you fucking stalking us?" Rosalie said and got in my face.

"Don't flatter yourself bitch. I wouldn't follow you around if you paid me." I lashed out. I don't know where the hell that came from, but I liked it.

"Ladies, let's talk this out. We're here to see our guys practice, and you're here to work on your cheers. I'm sure we can all be civilized and share the bleachers." Alice said and Rosalie's frown got bigger.

"Listen Tinkerbell. Why don't you and your little pixie friend go find another place to play. This is where we practice every day, and we're not about to start sharing!" Tanya smirked.

"Look here you little floozy. I don't think we were clear before, but you no longer run this show, we do. You don't scare Bella, and you damn sure don't scare me. If you don't want to share, we don't care. Just sit the fuck down, chill the fuck out and shut the fuck up." Alice laid it out plain and simple.

"We're not taking your shit half pint." Jessica said and got in Alice's face.

"Hey!" A male voice shouted.

"What the hell's going on?" Emmett came out of nowhere and looked around.

Jasper stepped in front of me and Alice. "I don't know what the hell is going on Rosalie, but I won't have any of it! You need to control your fucking friends, because I won't tolerate them getting in my girls face like that." He said angrily. This is the most upset I'd ever seen a guy.

He wrapped his arm protectively around Alice and led us over to the team. "Forget whatever they said back there." Emmett said.

"My sister and her friends have a bad way of handling things. Don't let them get to you." Jasper said apologetically.

"No worries Jazz." Alice said and reached up to stroke his hair. There was something about Alice and Jasper that felt so right, almost as if they're meant for each other.

"Yeah, don't worry about it." I said.

The coach introduced us to the team as the water girls. We hung around handing out drinks and ran with the team when they had to run a mile. Watching them work so hard was actually fun. The coach sat on the sidelines and explained each play to us. I was starting to get it.

When coach wasn't paying attention, Alice and I would stretch and bend over to distract the guys. It was funny watching them get yelled at when the coach realized they weren't listening.

When practice was over, we put the cooler away and went to grab our bags from out lockers. We only had fifteen minutes to get our stuff together and get to work. We couldn't afford to miss the grand re-opening. After we had our stuff, we went out towards the parking lot, and began walking home.

Emmett's jeep pulled up behind us. "Need a ride?" He asked. We hopped in and he drove us to work. There were tons of people outside the diner waiting for it to open.

"I'm heading home to cleaned up. I'll be back with Jazz in a bit." Emmett said as we got out of the car. We made our way past the crowd and got out aprons on. It was one of the busiest days we've had in a long time. When Emmett and Jasper showed up, we got them their food and took short breaks. Our break wasn't very long, so the guys offered to take us out Saturday night.

After work I was so exhausted that I went right to sleep, I didn't do my homework or set my alarm. My sleep was dreamless for a while, till the nightmares began. For some reason, I couldn't sleep well. Something was eating away at me.

I felt a hard thud and jumped up. I looked around frantically and realized I had just fallen out of bed. I went to my bathroom and splashed cold water on my face. I was shaken from my dream, even though I didn't really remember it all that well. I went back to my room and checked the time. It was only 2:03 am. I sighed when I remembered I hadn't got to my homework. I reluctantly did my homework, then went to take a shower. After my freezing cold shower, I put on my sweats and went for a run. It was only 4 am, so no one was outside. I ran for about two miles, then came back home. After taking a long refreshing drink, I showered again and got dressed for school. I decided to just let my hair down and let it air dry. I wasn't really in the mood for getting too dressed up. I settled for a simple gray tank top and dark jeans topped off with black converse, starfish earrings and my lucky charm bracelet. I grabbed my school stuff and placed them in a simple black handbag and went downstairs.

"You're ready early." Charlie pointed out when I walked into the kitchen.

"I couldn't sleep. I think I'm being haunted by a childhood nightmare." I said and he patted my back comfortingly.

"Let me know if they don't let up in a few days, I might have to talk to your mom about it. You had tons of nightmares as a kid." He said caringly. He handed me a mug of coffee and I took a long sip.

"Thanks dad." When Charlie offered to give me a ride I declined because I needed a walk to clear my head. I turned on my IPod and began walking. All I could remember from the dream was that a guy was following me. He cornered me into an alley and then the ally morphed into a burning house with Renee inside. When the house finally burned to the ground, a younger vision of me grabbed my hand and led me through the smoke. Little me began running but stopped suddenly when we heard a spooky noise.

"Hurry! Run! He's here." She whispered urgently.

"Who?" I asked, frightened.

"The boogeyman. He's here." She said and began to cry bloody tears. Before I knew it, the blood was spilling from her eyes and was up to my ankles. "He's here and he'll find you if you don't leave." She said and shrieked agonizingly. All the sudden little me was snatched and dragged down the hall by a shadow. She yelled and reached out to me. "Help me Bella! Please! Don't let him take me!" She yelled helplessly.

I ran down the hall and tried to grab her arms. I ran hopelessly but never caught up. When I finally stopped running, I saw her small lifeless body, bloodied and limp in a corner. That's when I woke up on the floor, startled. I jumped when a car sped past me. The nightmare was starting to get to me. When I made it to school, the parking lot was nearly empty. I took a seat at one of the picnic tables and closed my eyes.

Everything turned dark and I was sucked back into the nightmare. "Come play with me Bella." I heard a small voice call out. I was in a creepy old house. Little me was sitting on the floor, brushing her doll's hair. I knelt down by her, but she didn't even acknowledge my presence. "Bella?" I said softly. She continued brushing the doll's hair.

"Bella." I said again and she looked up.

"I came to play. Do you want to play?" I asked and she shook her head no. "Why not?" I asked.

"He's watching us. You have to leave or he'll hurt you. I don't want him to hurt you, you're my friend." She said and ran off. I woke up startled when someone touched me. I turned to see Emmett and he frowned.

"Why are you crying?" He asked and pulled me into a hug.

-A/N: I threw in a hopefully scary scene. I would have tried to make it scarier, but I wan kinda alone and I was alone. Review…. I have a perfect Idea for a story…should it be Emmett/Bella or Alice/Emmett. I'm lost so give me suggestions for the new story.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: I'm going to speed things along a little, because there's a lot to this story and I don't want to waste time on just their high school days. The next update might be a little late because I'm moving this weekend and I don't know when my internet will be running. Enjoy! I made the chapter longer than the others.

DISCALIMER: As usual, I own nothing, but Carlisle owns me.

xxxXxxx

I latched onto Emmett and held on tightly. I couldn't close my eyes because I feared I would get sucked back into that nightmare. I didn't realize I was crying until Emmett pulled back and wiped away my tears. He pushed the hair away from my face and kissed me lightly.

"Hey, I'm here. Everything's okay." He said reassuringly and pulled me into another warm embrace. I sighed and held onto him.

"You wanna tell me what's going on?" He asked and sat on the picnic table. He sat me on his lap and gently brushed his fingers through my slightly wet hair.

"I'm terrified Emmett. I had this nightmare; it was so horrible I'm still shaken. It felt so real and I'm terrified to go through it again. I'm so scared." I said and took a shaky breath.

"You wanna talk about it?" He said and pulled me closer.

I went into details about the dream and he sat and listened. I was grateful that he sat and comforted me while I got this off my chest. By the time I finished talking, the school was nearly full of students.

"We can skip school today if you want. We can hang out somewhere else; just us two." He offered and let me nuzzle into his chest.

"No it's fine…It's just that…Well…I don't know." I said. I was making no sense whatsoever. School passed by in a foggy haze. Alice would constantly ask what was wrong, but I would simply wave it off as nothing.

"Bella, I'm worried about you so you better start talking." Alice said after school, as we got water and Gatorade for the team. I said nothing and that pissed her off. "What the hell is the matter with you? Was it Tanya? The skanks? Who did this to you?" she yelled and I flinched.

"I'm sorry Bella." She said when I teared up a bit.

I finally gave in and told her everything. "Alice, I don't know why this dream is getting to me like this. I feel like I've lived this out before, maybe when I was younger." I cried and she hugged me.

"Maybe we should skip practice and work and get you home." She suggested but I declined.

"No. We have to stay for practice and I don't want to miss work." I said and lifted the cooler onto the cart. "The guys have a game tomorrow, so it's important I stay for practice today. They need all the encouragement they can get." I said and plastered on a fake smile. Alice glared at me and slapped me across the face.

She didn't hit me too hard, only hard enough to get my attention. "I am your best friend! Don't you dare give me one of your phony smiles. I can see through you just as easily as you see through me." She said and glared at me.

"I guess I needed that." I whispered and she smiled.

"Do you want me to come spend the night with you? You know, in case you have a nightmare." She asked kindly.

"No, it's fine. I want to see if I can make it go away on my own. But thanks, I appreciate it." I said and kissed her cheek. We pushed the cart out to the field and stretched while we waited for the guys.

When the team ran out to the field, we ran beside them and did the drills with them. After they ran their first few plays, Emmet came out to check on me. "How are you holding up?" He asked and kissed the top of my head.

"I'm fine. I'm trying not to give it too much thought." I said and he nodded. After practice, Emmett dropped us off at work, then went to hang out with Edward and Jasper. Alice had to leave work a little early because she had a dentist appointment. She assured me she'd be back as soon as she could, but it told her not to worry about me.

I was sitting at the counter, wiping away spilled coffee, when Edward walked in and took a seat in a booth by a window. His hair was wet from the rain and his cheeks were flushed from the cold wind. The tip of his nose was pink and it brought out something childish in him. I expected Emmett or Jasper to walk in after Edward, but when no one did, I figured he was alone.

The waitress covering for Alice went over to get his order, then came over to me. "The guy in the black hoodie wants you to take his order. I tried to do it but he specifically asked for you." She said and I sighed. I was in no mood to deal with Edward's usual crap.

"What do you want Cullen?" I asked, not even bothering with the fake smile.

"Why don't you turn that frown upside down and try again doll face." He smirked and I glared at him. "I've got all afternoon." He said with a smile. He actually had a very nice smile. It brightened up his face in more ways than one. When I looked closely, I noticed that just like Emmett, he had freckles on his nose. I then looked into his eyes. His big green orbs had flecks of gold floating around in his irises.

"Do you usually undress customers with your eyes or do you just like what you see?" Edward asked and I flushed pink. I looked away to hide my blush.

"You're so full of yourself." I said irritated, when I stopped blushing.

"Would you not agree that I'm good looking?" He asked and I blushed again. I know a good looking person when I see one, and I am good looking." He said with a cocky grin.

"Are you going to order or should I just get you a mirror so you can tell yourself how pretty you are?" I said and he smiled.

"What do you recommend?" He asked.

"You've been here thousands of times and you choose today to ask me?" I said a bit harsher than I meant to.

"What's wrong with today?" He asked.

"I'm not having a good day." I said, not knowing why I was even having a conversation with him.

"I can tell. You haven't said a word to Rosalie all day. I think she misses you." He said and laughed.

"That's not funny. I hate your girlfriend's guts." I snapped.

"Yeah well if you're thinking of killing her, you'll have to take a number and get in line. Rose isn't the easiest person to get along with." He said and picked up the menu. "Get me a double cheeseburger and a large coke." He said and I glared at him. "Please." He added, then turned to the tv to watch a game that was on. When Edward's food was ready, I took it to him, then went to hang up my apron. He paid for the food, then slipped a ten into my shirt.

"Hey!" I complained.

"What?" He asked innocently.

"You can't just reach into my shirt. Who do you think you are?" I said angrily and buttoned up the top three buttons of my polo shirt. I grabbed the ten dollar bill and threw it at him. "You can keep that." I said angrily and began to walk away. He caught up to me, slipped the bill into the waistband of my skirt, slapped my ass and walked away.

"Later doll." He winked and took off. He had some nerve. I should have caught up with him and evened things out by kicking him right in the nuts. The rain had let up a little, so the walk home wasn't too bad. The next couple days were complete hell. Although the football team won their two games, my nightmares hadn't let up. Every night I would wake up terrified and covered in sweat. Emmett and I got closer, so that took away some of my anxiety.

I tried not to let the nightmares get to me since Alice was working hard, planning a birthday party for us. We made tons of flyers and the football team helped hand them out. The team had warmed up to me and Alice, so it was certain they were coming to our party.

The party would be held at Alice's house on Saturday and would start at 6:30 p.m. Renee flew in, but Phil couldn't make it. I was a bit disappointed. Esme and Renee were doing decorations and taking care of the food. All Alice and I had to do was find outfits for the party, make sure invites got out and fill in the DJ. Everyone was invited, but of course because Rosalie and Tanya found out we were having a party, they decided to throw one of their own on the same night as ours.

Emmett assured us he would get as many people as he could to come to our party. With the party only two days away, the nightmares had stopped and I couldn't have been happier. Alice and I went to a dress shop to find what to wear to the party.

"You look a lot better." Alice said and handed me a dress to try on.

"I was able to get some sleep. Charlie got me sleeping pills two nights ago and I haven't dreamt of anything since." I said, trying to zip up the tight dress. "This dress sucks; I can barely breathe." I added and took the dress off.

"Well good, you need all the sleep you can get." She said. We tried on a couple more dresses till we found the perfect ones. They were hot but classy, sexy but appropriate. We went back to Alice's house and went over the checklist of stuff. She then called the dj to make sure he knew when and where the party was.

On the day of the party, we got up extra early and went to the gym. After the gym we showered and helped with all the last minute stuff. We then helped the dj get set up and got the fog machines working. The cakes were delivered on time and everything was going according to plan. At around four, we showered and got dressed.

People had started showing up by the time the party began. By 7:30, there were at least sixty people downstairs. By eight, people were dancing to the music, talking, and hanging around eating. Alice and I finally went down to greet people. Emmett, Jasper and the team showed up shortly after. More and more people showed up and soon, the place was packed.

"I'm going to go dance with Jasper." Alice shouted over the music. I nodded and she left. I wasn't much for dancing, so I walked around and talked to people. I got tons of compliments on my dress and just about everyone was having a good time. Emmett found me and dragged me out to dance with him.

"I've been looking for you all night. Are you hiding from me?" He asked and I giggled.

Dancing with him wasn't so bad. He put his hands on my hips and guided my movement. I slowly ground into him and he hissed. I felt his manhood harden and turned around to face him. I was getting horny and the loud music along with all the warm bodies swaying against one another really wasn't helping me think rationally.

After a while, Emmett picked me up and sneaked upstairs. I guided him into Alice's room, but Alice and Jasper were in there, making out on the bed. I ran over to Alice's underwear drawer and grabbed a condom…just in case.

I took Emmett's hand and went to one of the guest rooms and locked the door. The second the door was locked, his lips crashed onto mine. All of the sudden, it got very hot and my senses multiplied. I was aware of every kiss and every touch. He slipped my dress off and removed his clothes. My body was burning with need and only Emmett could extinguish the flames.

He kissed my throat and slowly made his way down my body, only stopping to pay my breasts some very much needed attention. I was floating around in ecstasy and Emmett was the only thing keeping me grounded. I moaned and groaned as he got closer to the place I wanted him most.

My entire body shook when I felt his moist tongue trailing up my inner thigh. He dragged his tongue all the way up to my clit, then stopped and moved to my other thigh. I groaned and felt the need to slap him for teasing me. He moved to my other thigh and did the same thing. I gasped and arched my back off the bed when I felt him cup me through my panties.

In a flash, my panties were off and on the floor. He wasted no more time and dove right into my wetness. He licked from my opening up to my clit. My body quivered and shook. His tongue was in all the right places and I couldn't help but moan continuously. Before long, my bra joined my panties on the floor and he had two fingers in me, vigorously pumping in and out.

Emmett pulled his fingers away just when I had nearly reached my climax. He picked up the condom I had thrown on the bed and rolled it on. He placed his length at my opening and pushed in. Once he was all the way in he stopped and waited a while for me to adjust to his size. He moved at a steady pace for a bit, then, without any warning, he pulled out almost all the way and slammed back into me.

He slammed into me harder and faster. I moaned incoherent words and streams of profanities as he took me to heaven. He felt me tighten around him and picked sped up. I came so hard, I got lightheaded. He kept slamming into me as I rode out my orgasm. Just when I thought my orgasm was over, he pinched my clit and made me cum all over again.

After his release, he collapsed on top of me. "That was amazing." I said as I ran my fingers through his hair. He chuckled then got up to go clean himself up. I hopped in the shower and washed off really fast. After getting my dress back on and fixing my hair, I went downstairs. I couldn't let go of the fact that I had just lost my virginity; to Emmett nonetheless.

As I walked through the crowd of people Alice found me. "You look happy. Did you do what I think you did?" She asked with a giggle.

"Why yes I did." I replied with a sly smile.

"Good, because I did too." She said. We had our little giggling teenage girls moment.

"I hope no one realized we were gone." I said and bit my lip.

"I'll sneak us some wine or something for later." She said with a wink and took off.

Renee and Esme called for everyone's attention. The cakes were brought out and everyone sang happy birthday. Grams and Grandpa came out and surprised us. I was shocked though when I saw Phil; I didn't think he'd make it. After cutting the cakes, we got our birthday gifts from the family. Grams and Gramps chipped in with our parents to get us brand new matching convertibles. Mine was red and Alice's was black.

We screamed and jumped around like complete schoolgirls when we saw the cars. This was without doubt the best day of my life. After all the excitement and envy died down, the party was back in full swing. I went out to the backyard to get some air.

I went over and took a seat by the fish pond. The music from the party was blaring through the house, and all the way out into the yard. "Happy Birthday." I turned around to see a very handsome Edward walking towards me with a plate of cake and a fork. He was wearing a light blue button down shirt with black jeans. As much as I hate to admit it, he was looking quite handsome.

I took the cake and had a bite. Props to Renee and Esme, it was delicious; they sure know how to pick a cake. Edward sat next to me and watched me eat. His staring was making me feel uneasy. "What?" I asked.

"You have icing on your mouth." He said with a smile. I tried to give him a mean look, but ended up smiling instead. I licked my lips to get the icing off.

"Is it gone?" I asked.

"Nope, still there." He replied.

I tried again, but he said it was still there. "Here, let me get it." He said. He leaned into me and licked the far right corner of my mouth. He slowly backed away and sat back down. "It's gone." He said, nearly inaudible.

I couldn't believe what just happened, so I said nothing. "How was it?" Edward asked and I froze.

"How was what?" I asked nervously.

"The sex." He said and I gasped as if I had no idea what he was talking about. "You and Emmett were gone a while. And plus, you smell like sex." He stated. I blushed and looked down.

"It's none of your business." I said and turned red. Edward said nothing. He just leaned over and kissed me cheek, then moved down and pressed his lips to mine. He began to kiss me, but I jumped backwards in surprise. "Stop it." I said and stood up. He smiled and got up too.

"I'm not doing anything wrong. You clearly wanted me to kiss you." He said and I glared at him. I was about to leave, but then I remembered that he had slapped my ass at the diner. I slapped him across the face and smacked his ass. Now he gets to see how it feels to be harassed.

"Later doll." I repeated his words from the diner and went back inside. The party was over at around 2:30 in the morning. Alice and I said our good nights and thank yous to our parents and went up to Alice's room. We locked the door and turned off the lights to make it look like we were asleep.

We stayed up till 7 or 8 in the morning drinking wine and talking about the party and the amazing sex we each had. I even told her about the scene in the backyard with Edward. "I knew it. Edward likes you." She said in a loud whisper.

"Doesn't matter. I think it's safe to say I'm with Emmett now." I said with a giddy smile. Little did I know that life wouldn't stay perfect for long. When we got tired, we stashed the wine and went to sleep. Thanks to Alice holding me all night, I didn't have any nightmares.

"Get up. Emmett's on the phone." I woke up to Alice's groggy voice. Everything was blurry and my head was killing me. I took the phone from Alice and held it to my ear.

"Hello?" I said in a soft whisper.

"Good morning." Emmett said brightly.

"Stop talking so loud. I have a killer headache." I said.

"Mine and Edward's parents want to meet you." He said. (Remember, Edward's parents, who are Emmett's aunt and uncle, adopted Emmett.) "They're having dinner with Jasper's folks and they want you and Alice to be there."

"Wow, time to meet the parents already?" I joked.

"If you're not comfortable with it you don't have to." He said quickly.

"I was only kidding. I'd love to meet your parents. When and where?" He gave me directions to a restaurant and the time to be there. I filled Alice in and she threw a fit.

"Couldn't he have called sooner? It's freaking three in the afternoon. We only have a few hours to get ready. What does he think, I just wake up looking made up and beautiful every morning?" She sighed angrily.

"You can't deny the fact that you do wake up looking beautiful every morning." I buttered her up. Nothing gets her going like a compliment. We went running for an hour then came back to Alice's house. Carlisle was at work and Esme was off running errands with a friend. After eating "breakfast" we showered and got dressed.

I was very nervous; I didn't know how Emmett's family would react to me. I know Edward has a like/hate thing going for me, and that was enough to confuse me completely. I would just have to cross my fingers and hope for the best. At 7:30, we each took our car and drove to the restaurant. The truth was that we were just looking for a reason to drive the cars.

The butterflies in my stomach went crazy when I pulled up to the restaurant. Emmett and Jasper were standing outside, looking as handsome as ever. We greeted them and they escorted us inside. The restaurant was very nice; very, very fancy. Like the 500 dollars a meal type of fancy; that made me more nervous than before.

Alice held my hand as we walked. She looked completely at ease. I totally envied her cool posture. When we arrived at the table, the grownups stood up to greet us. Rosalie and Tanya just glared at us as usual; if looks could kill. After introductions were made, we sat down and started small talk.

Things were going great until our food arrived. "So, what do you girls do in your spare time?" Emmett and Edward's mom asked.

I didn't answer so Alice took the bullet for me. "We help out the football team, then we go to work."

"You have jobs, how nice." She said with a genuine smile.

"They work at a lowly diner. If you call that nice, then whatever." Rosalie sneered. She and Tanya laughed hysterically.

"No need to be rude." Rosalie's mom said and gave her a look.

"I enjoy working at the diner. At some point in your life, you have to realize you're no longer a baby and buckle down to do things for yourself; that means, being responsible for yourself and not having to run back to mommy and daddy every time you go broke and need money." I said to shut them up. They shot daggers at me.

"Well said." Emmett's dad smiled.

"I couldn't agree more." Jasper's dad added.

"Women simply shouldn't have to "work" horrendous hours to make a living. They should have their dream life in a matter of seconds." Tanya said. Edward and Jasper said nothing, but snickered. I could see this was turning into an argument. She was pushing my buttons so that I'd look bad in front of Emmett and his family.

She will regret that.

"In this day and age, there is absolutely no reason for a woman who wants a good life to sit back and watch her life pass her by. If a woman wants her "dream life," then she needs to work for it. She has to be independent and stable. Nothing comes to those who sit around and wait for something to fall out of the sky." I said.

This pissed her off and I could tell she was dying to wrap her hands around my throat.

"Well, I've been sitting and waiting my entire life, and I have everything I could ever want right here in within my reach. You on the other hand are "independent" and look where that's led you, working in a diner with no life whatsoever." Tanya said with a bright smile.

"Burn." Rosalie called out and high fived Tanya. "Working at a diner. What has your "independence" brought you?" She snickered.

"Let's see, proud parents, an amazing best friend, a ridiculously hot car, a great birthday party and a sexy boyfriend; one that Tanya wants by the way. Did I miss anything?" I said with a smug smile.

"Burn!" Alice shouted excitedly and high fived me. Now it was our turn to laugh. The entire table seemed to be engrossed in our argument. I guess we were the entertainment.

"No matter what you do or how many makeovers you get, you'll always be the plain and invisible buck toothed Bella." Rosalie said. Her comment hit me like a ton of bricks. She hit me right where she knew it would hurt; my self esteem.

She knew I didn't think I was pretty and that I envied her beauty.

"You can smack on all the makeup you want, just know that you'll never have the natural beauty we have." Tanya added.

Emmett and Japer glared at both of them. The adults looked shocked at what had just happened but neither Tanya or Rosalie seemed to care. They got what they wanted. They pushed my buttons and got the response they wanted. They won. There was an uncomfortable silence because no one seemed to know what to say.

"That was a bitch move. This is getting ridiculous. I'm out of here." Edward said and left.

Emmett put his hand on my lower back in an attempt to comfort me. "Hey, don't cry. Don't let them get to you. You're beautiful and you know it." Emmett said and rubbed my back.

"Babe, are you okay?" He asked when I didn't respond. What kind of dumb question is that, of course I wasn't okay. I felt greatly embarrassed and there wasn't much I could do about it. I wasn't embarrassed because of what they said, I was embarrassed because they were right and because I let them get a rise out of me just like they wanted.

I felt the unshed tears prickling the corners of my eyes. I had to leave before my tears began to fall and I made a complete fool of myself. I took a deep breath to calm myself and then gently pushed my chair back and stood up. I excused myself from the table and threw my napkin down, then slowly walked away from the table.

"Bella, please don't." I heard Emmet say. I barely made eye contact with him, but he knew I just wanted to be alone. He sighed and I walked away.

"You insensitive sluts! This is why I hate you both and Emmett won't date you Tanya! You're cold, cutthroat bitches!" I heard Alice yell as I went past tables to get to the exit.

"Honey, wait up me." Alice called from behind me. I stopped and turned around to face her. "You can't leave." She said.

"Alice, don't you see how they're trying to humiliate me?" I asked angrily and she flinched.

"And you think that leaving will solve everything? Bella, if you leave now, you might as well hand Emmett over to Tanya, because the second you walk out that door, you're letting her win." Alice said and reached up to fix my most likely smudged makeup. She held my hand and I let her lead me back to the table. Her pep talks always worked.

She was right, I had to hold my ground. I quickly regained my composure. "Sorry about that." I apologized to everyone at the table; well, everyone except the skanks.

Alice scoffed and rolled her eyes. She looked at Jasper's parents Emmett and Edward's parents. "I'm sorry, but I'm not sorry for anything I did or said. Some people are bitches and they have to be told off." She said and Jasper smiled at her.

We finished the rest of the meal while engaging in small talk. Rosalie and Tanya didn't make any more attempts at humiliating me, although that was probably because all the adults at the table were watching them wearily.

After Dinner was over, we thanked everyone for inviting us and took off. I gotta get home, cry my eyes out and sleep.

A/N: Hope you enjoyed. I have links of the outfits on my profile if you want to check them out. Leave a review. Mucho love guys!


	10. Chapter 10

**CHAPTER 10**

**DISCLAIMER: **I don't own Twilight, The boogeyman or any other crazy stuff thrown in here, but as usual, Carlisle can own me anytime :D

**A/N:** Chapter 10 is finally here! Sorry I took long . . . Moving houses can get pretty hectic. Anyway, I hope you enjoy and don't hate me by the end of this chapter. (If you hate me by the end of the chapter, please don't troll :D)

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I don't know how long I stayed in bed, but by the time I got up, my eyes were puffy and sore and my head hurt from all the crying. I finally got up the strength to get up and yank my clothes off. My hair was a tangled mess, but I could care less to try to tame it right now. I slipped my bra and underwear off and put on an oversized t-shirt and boy shorts.

The last couple days had been complete hell for me. The nightmares got so bad that I had to skip school for a few days. And because I couldn't sleep at night, Charlie took a few days off work to stay with me to try and help me get some sleep. We talked to Renee about the nightmares, but she seemed hesitant to talk about it.

When I finally got her to tell me, she didn't say much. I felt like she was holding out on me. We discussed some of the nightmares I'd had as a kid, but I knew that there was something she wasn't telling me. She wouldn't go any deeper than some silly bad dreams. I guess I would have to find the truth on my own.

I had a few missed calls and unread text messages from Emmett and Alice, but I chose to ignore them; I wasn't in the mood to lie and say I was okay. My phone buzzed the second I tossed it onto the bed. I didn't want to answer, but I did as soon as I saw Edward's name flash across the screen. Something about Edward pulled me in and I couldn't avoid him if I wanted to.

"I didn't know I had your number and I'm pretty sure I never gave you mine."I said; my voice raspy from all the crying.

"Lock your bedroom door and open your window." He spoke, as if he hadn't heard my comment. His voice was husky and when he spoke, it sent chills down my spine.

"Are you coming up?" I asked as I locked my bedroom door. If Charlie ever found out I sneaked Edward in, he'd kill me, then he'd kill Edward.

"No Sherlock, I want you to come down here." He said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. The thought of me even thinking of climbing out of the window of a two story house was insane. Nothing but my death would come of that. I threw the phone onto the bed and opened the window. Edward was perched up on the tree right outside the house.

He held on to the edge of the window and crawled into my bedroom. "You okay?" He asked as he closed the window.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I lied and gave him a questioning look.

"Emmett and Alice are really worried about you. They want to know why you're not answering your phone or texting them back."

Is it wrong that I didn't answer when Emmett called, but I picked up for Edward? Yes it is! Okay, I didn't think so. "Things have been rough the last few days." I said and went back to the bed.

"Stop worrying about what already happened. It's all in the past now." He advised.

"How can I stop worrying? I'm beyond embarrassed."

"Just get over it. Emmett still likes you and my parents think you're great." He said and offered me a reassuring smile. He has a really nice smile, I thought to myself, then quickly snapped out of it. What the hell is wrong with me?

"Thanks." I said and allowed myself to fall back into bed. I closed my eyes and ran my fingers through my tangled hair, as a sigh escaped my lips. The bed shifted beside me, but I didn't move.

"You should get some sleep. Tinkerbell really worries about you. She says you're still having trouble sleeping."He said. Alice would kill him if he ever referred to her as Tinkerbell in her presence.

"She sent you to see if I was sleeping right?" He rolled his eyes but smiled.

"Sorta. I was already on my way here when I got a call." Awww, how sweet, he wanted to sneak into my room and check on me, and it was of his own free will. That kind of made me wonder If Emmett would ever do that . . . I can't really see him sneaking into my room.

"Thanks Edward." I said, my eyes still closed. "It's very nice of you to do this." The bed shifted again and when I opened my eyes, Edward was hovering over me, with his lips slightly parted. I held my breath and my heart began to beat erratically, as his face inched closer and closer to mine.

When his lips were just mere centimeters away from mine, I turned my head and looked away. His cold lips missed my mouth and went to my jaw instead. I shivered when he trailed wet kisses down to my throat. "Stop." I whispered hoarsely. He either didn't hear me or didn't want to stop.

I had to bite back a moan when he gently sucked on the sensitive area on my neck, beneath my pulse. My hands shot out and began to push him away. "Stop!" I said louder and he pulled back with a cheeky grin. He made no effort to get off me, so I pushed him off and sat up.

I shouldn't be doing this. I've officially gone insane. 'I'm with Emmett, I'm with Emmett, I'm with Emmett' I chanted in my head to help regain some control over my body. God knows my body wants Edward right now…that is so wrong. I've finally lost it.

"You know you wanted it." Edward said with a grin that I so badly wanted to slap off his face.

"I think you should go now." I got up and walked over to the window.

"Uh, thanks, but no thanks, I'm quite comfortable right here." He said and stretched out on my bed. I yanked the window open.

"Edward, you can't keep doing this!" I stomped over to where he was. "It isn't fair!"

"I didn't do anything that you didn't want me to do. You wanted me to kiss you and you liked it." He snapped and reached for the remote to turn on _my_ tv.

"I'm dating your cousin, does that mean nothing to you?" I was getting really angry.

"Do you really want me to answer that?" He asked with a dark, humorless chuckle.

"Edward!" I felt the urge to punch him in the face.

"Don't fucking _Edward_ me! You let me kiss you because you wanted it." He said angrily. I shot him daggers.

"No I didn't!"

"Let's face it doll, you and I both knew my intentions when I came in through your window. I didn't just stop by to say hi to a friend. You saw the lust in my eyes!"

What's he take me for? A slut? "So you only came here to get into my pants?" I tried not to let it show how much that hurt me. Does he really think so little of me that he thinks he could walk in here for a quick fuck?

He shrugged his shoulders at my question. "You let Emmett hit it." He said with a twisted look in his eyes.

"Get out!" I yelled and pointed to the open window. "Now!"

"Gladly!" He yelled back and walked to the window. "Good fucking night!" He crawled out the window, shot me one last glare and slammed the window shut, before jumping down into the grass. I locked the window and jumped back into bed. My headache was back with a raging vengeance and I wanted nothing more than to lay there and die.

After unlocking my bedroom door, so Charlie wouldn't get suspicious, I sighed and let my eyes slip closed. When I opened them, I was no longer in my room. I was in an abandoned room with squeaky floorboards. I ran around in panic, hoping to find a door or a window to escape through. There was very little light in the room and I didn't know where it was coming from.

I finally found a door that led me to a staircase. It wasn't till I was halfway up the stairs I realized that I'd probably fallen asleep and was dreaming. I stopped when I heard footsteps shuffling behind me. I turned around and saw a little blonde girl looking at me.

"Are you lost?" She asked. When I said nothing, she continued. "You shouldn't go up there."

"W-w-why not?" I stuttered.

"He say's we're not allowed up there." She said and turned to walk away. I ran down the stairs and followed her.

"Who is _he_?" My voice broke. "And how do I get out of here?" I asked still very much terrified.

"Just wake up." She answered sweetly.

I wasn't sure if I'd heard her right. "What?" There was a squeak and a shuffle at the top of the staircase, followed by slow footsteps.

"He's here!" She whispered urgently. "You have to get up or he'll hurt you too. He'll get in through the window." She whispered and grabbed my hand. She ran and led me down several hallways, then stopped. "Hurry, you have to open your eyes and shut the window." What is she talking about, my eyes are open. What window?

"Open your eyes and wake up Bella. You're running out of time and you're the only one that can save us." She was getting more and more frantic.

"Who's _us_? Who is _he_?" I asked. I was not only shaking scared, but I was also confused beyond reason; nothing was making sense anymore. She shrieked and when I turned around, I saw a dark figure making its way towards us. As the figure got closer, I could see it was a man.

He was tall, with an average build to his body. Half his face appeared to be burned off. He looked oddly familiar, but I couldn't place his face. "Wake up Bella. Don't forget about us, you have to save us; our past lives depend on it!" She yelled and just like that, I was jerked out of the nightmare. As I woke up, I could swear I heard a voice whisper "Wake up."

I was covered in sweat, yet my body was freezing cold. "Don't forget." The same soft voice whispered as a gust of wind blew off my sheets, sending chills down my spine. I looked over at my window and my mouth fell open.

Oh my god . . . My window was wide open, the drapes fluttering in the cold night air. How could this have happened? I know for a fact that I locked that window after I kicked Edward out a few hours ago.

"Charlie!" I screamed at the top of my lungs as hot tears rolled down my cheeks. This isn't happening. This isn't happening. This isn't happening. Charlie was in my room and by my side in a matter of seconds.

He turned on the lamp on the nightstand and brought his hand up to my forehead. "What is it Bella? Tell me what's wrong." I threw my arms around his neck and cried into his chest.

"It was locked. It was locked, I swear I locked it. I know I did." I blubbered into his chest.

"What was locked? What is it?" He pulled back and pushed my bangs away from my face.

"The window is open." I said and he got up to close it. "Charlie, don't touch it!" I yelled.

He gave me a confused look and came back to my side.

"I locked the window before I went to bed. It was about one in the morning. I locked the window and went to sleep. The little girl from the nightmare; she said the window was open. And when I woke up, it was." I cried hysterically.

"Bells, I don't understand what you mean. You have to calm down." Charlie said.

When I finally calmed down, I explained how I had locked the window before going to sleep, the nightmare and the girl telling me about the window, and the window actually being open. Charlie didn't know what to say, so he said nothing. We closed the window and went down to the living room.

"Dad, something crazy is going on."

"It was just a nightmare Bella." He attempted to calm me down.

"Then how do you explain the window?"

"Maybe you forgot to lock it and the wind pushed it open."

"Dad, I _know_ I locked that window. There is no way in hell I left it open." I pleaded for him to believe me.

"Okay, I believe you. We're going to have to be very careful and observant till we figure out what in god's name is going on around here." He said and put a pillow on the couch. I lied down and covered myself with my favorite blanket.

Charlie lied down on the other couch to look after me while I slept. I felt bad that he had to sleep on the couch just so I could sleep well. "Thanks dad." He smiled and he nodded.

"Sure thing kiddo."

I felt bad for not responding to Alice's texts, phone calls and emails. I would have to apologize in the morning and hope that she understood what I was going through. Things were getting very eerie; I know I locked the window . . . And how did the little girl know It was open? . . . It _was_ just a dream . . . Right?

The next morning when Alice came over to pick me up for school, I told her about the events of the previous night. She clicked her tongue and rolled her eyes. I could tell she was frustrated, even a bit angry at me. She probably thinks I've been avoiding her.

"Are you sure you weren't just hallucinating?" She asked a little bitterly.

"Alice, I know what I'm talking about! I did not hallucinate, I locked that window before I went to sleep and it was wide open when I got up." I could tell she didn't believe me and that pissed me off a little. She probably though I was insane.

"You think I'm crazy!" I accused when she gave me a bizarre look.

"No, of course not . . . I just . . ." She paused and gave me another strange look.

"Fuck, I'm your best friend and you don't believe me." I was getting irritated.

"What do you want me to do Bella? You're scaring me with all this nonsense."

"It isn't nonsense, something is going on!" I shouted angrily. "I want you to believe me."

She put a hand on her hip and poked me in the chest with her free hand. "You're a crappy friend. Why should I believe you? I mean for all I know, you could be lying through your teeth." How could she even think that?

"What the hell? Why the fuck would I make up something like this?"

"You clearly want more attention. I mean, I have a good boyfriend and tons of friends, it's only natural that you'd want to be like me. Rosalie was right." I couldn't believe my ears.

"Listen to yourself Alice, you sound like a total bitch!"

"Better a bitch than a psycho attention whore." She retorted. Either Alice has been brainwashed by the skanks or I just lost my best friend . . . Either way, she's crossed over to the dark side.

"Fuck you! I don't have to stand around, putting up with your shit. You're no better than Tanya, Rosalie or Jessica. When my best friend comes back, tell her to come find me." I ripped of the charm bracelet she bought me back when we first met.

"Good luck finding another friend that will stick with you through as much shit as I have." I threw the bracelet at her and stomped off. Fuck my life. I couldn't tell you what happened in my first two classes because I spaced out most of the time.

I ran into Emmett on the way to my third class.

"Hey, I heard about what happened between you and Alice this morning. I'm sorry." He said and wrapped his arm around me.

"Well, I'm not sorry; I guess she and I shouldn't be friends anymore. I saw an entirely different side of her this morning. Alice and her stupid popularity. I should have never gotten involved with operation T.O.T.A.R." I huffed.

"Operation what?" Emmett asked.

"Nothing, I have to get to class."

"Bella, if you ever need to talk, you know I'm here for you." Is he the sweetest guy in the world or what. He gently pushed me back into a locker and kissed me. His tongue swept over my bottom lip and I moaned into his mouth. God, he tastes good.

When we finally pulled apart, I hugged him. "Thanks Em."

In third period, Alice took her usual seat by me, but she said nothing; she didn't even look my way. As much as it hurt to sit so close to her and not be talking to each other, I knew that our fight was far from over. I felt bad about what happened, but I knew it wasn't my fault. I've known Alice for years. She should have known me well enough to know that I would never make up something as serious as my nightmares and the window just to gain popularity.

It really hurt to know that she was so ready to throw away our friendship. Popularity does mess people up. When I walked into the cafeteria for lunch, I was shocked; Alice was sitting in between Tanya and Jessica and in front of Rosalie, cheerfully chatting away.

When I sat down, she completely ignored me. She kept on chatting as If I wasn't even there. I scoffed and turned to Jasper. I raised my eyebrow and tilted my head in Alice's direction questioningly. "I wish I knew." He said with a sigh. "They've been nearly inseparable the last couple days; I personally don't like it." Great, I was replaced before our friendship was even officially over.

"I see I've been replaced." I said with an icy glare.

"Oh, what makes you say that?" Alice asked sarcastically.

"Oh, I don't know. Probably because you're associating with the enemy." She smiled and nodded.

"Well at least _the enemy_ is there when I need them; like real friends. They would return my calls, texts and emails if I was worried sick about them, instead of making up some ridiculous stories about ghosts and windows."

"To hell with you Alice." I said and she got up to leave; of course the skanks got up to leave with her. They glared at me and laughed before taking off, their noses high in the air.

"She'll come around once she realizes the mistake she's made." Jasper said and pulled me into a half hug.

"Thanks Jazz." I whispered and tried to hold back my tears. When Emmett walked in, with Edward right behind him, he scooped me out of my seat and pulled me to his chest. "You don't know how much I missed you. I called you like a hundred times. I also stopped by your house a few times, but your dad said you didn't feel good and you were sleeping. Are you feeling better?" He asked and placed a gentle kiss on my neck.

"I'm fine. Thanks for calling and coming by." I smiled.

Edward said nothing, but stared at me the entire lunch period. I tried to ignore him and focus on the conversation I was having with Emmett and Jasper; that didn't work out so well. I could barely take my eyes off him. When lunch was over, I made a quick escape to my locker then headed to class.

Unfortunately though, Jasper caught up with me just as I neared my classroom. "Is there something bothering you, that you'd like to talk about?" He asked and raised an eyebrow at me. I simply smiled and shook my head.

"Nope."

He changed his stance and folded his arms over his chest. "Let's try this again Bella. Is there anything going on that you'd like to share with me?" There was no amusement on his face, only seriousness. For a second, I contemplated telling him everything, but thought better of it.

"It's nothing Jasper." _I don't need another person thinking I'm insane. _"I just have a lot on my mind. If it gets serious, you'll be the first to know." I lied smoothly and he relaxed.

"Alright, just know that I'm here for you. I'll see you later." He said, kissed my cheek and took off with a wave. After the last class of the day, I changed my clothes and went to the storage room to get the team's snacks and water—of course Alice was already there when I arrived. She silently filled the cooler with fruits and drinks then began to drag it away. I caught up to her and picked up the other end of the cooler, so it wasn't dragging anymore. Together, we carried the cooler out to the field, but said nothing to each other.

After practice, Alice went to work without me, knowing she was my ride to work, so I had to ask Emmett to drop me off. At work, I got the same silent treatment from Alice. At the end of our shifts, I thought about asking her for a ride home, but decided I'd rather walk home in the pouring rain than to cave and ask for her help; after all, we were no longer friends . . . she didn't owe me jack.

After hanging up my apron, I got my bag and walked out. Alice got in her car, without a single glance back at me and drove off. It was now raining harder than before; I should definitely have driven myself to school in the morning. A black car pulled up next to me just as I reached the end of the sidewalk.

The passenger window rolled down, revealing . . . Edward. After what happened the night before, I probably should have just kept on walking. I was drenched and freezing cold, so I opened the door and got in. As soon as the door closed, he rolled the window up and sped off. I clicked on my seatbelt and chanced a glance in his direction.

He was looking straight ahead and had one hand on the steering wheel. His knuckles were pale from gripping the wheel so tight. He looked angry so I said nothing and turned to look out the window on my side. He pulled up to my house in no time at all.

He turned away from me and looked out the window as I got out of the car. "Thank you." I said quietly. He still said nothing, so I grabbed my bag and swung it over my shoulder. He sped off as soon as I shut the passenger door. I ran into the house and got a towel to dry off.

After doing my homework and making dinner, I went upstairs to take a shower, so I could eat with Charlie when he got home. I stripped my clothes off and stepped into the shower. The steamy, hot water felt great against my tense muscles.

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*** For those of you that don't like thrillers or are easily frightened by thrillers, I suggest you scroll back up to the top of the page and don't continue reading. I have decided to change the plot of this story, so the once sweet and innocent chapters stop right here. This chapter will only be graphic, but the chapters following this one will be dark and filled with action, romance, deception and suspense. I hope you keep on reading. Thank you for your time, back to the story.***

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I poured strawberry shampoo into my hair and gently lathered it in. Soon, the sweet, soothing smell of strawberries was replaced with the strong smell of iron. The smell was familiar but nauseating. I instinctively pulled my hands out of my hair and inspected them. Oh dear god . . . My hands were soaked with warm, sticky blood.

I looked down at the shower floor which was also covered in blood, and gasped in horror. I let out a chilling scream and attempted to rinse blood out of my hair. Needless to say, the more I rinsed, the more blood trickled down my body. I panicked and shut off the water. My screams filled the tiny bathroom.

The door swung open with a loud crash and Charlie came running in. His eyes scanned the small bathroom for any signs of danger, before they fell upon the bloody shower. He looked me over and took in my frightened expression and the bloody towel wrapped around my body. He hurriedly pulled me to his side and examined the shower.

My heart dropped to my stomach when I looked at the mirror. The name "Thomas Brady" was written in dark red blood, across the mirror. The name rang a bell. Old suppressed memories flashed before my eyes. The house, the children, the man, the abuse, the park . . . it all made sense now.

My body went into shock and I had a seizure. I shook violently as more memories flooded my mind. I could hear Charlie yelling, but I couldn't make out what he was saying; he sounded like he was very far away. I could feel myself being lifted and carried away.

Soon, there were other voices and red lights flashing everywhere. The memories got so strong, I blacked out for a bit. When my eyes opened, I was in a bright place. Blinding bright lights were flashing by at an alarmingly fast pace. My body was still shaking and I couldn't think straight.

"Hold her down and get the ivy. She's unstable and her pupils are dilated. No signs of any head trauma or concussions. I can't find the source of all this blood so inject her with ivy." That voice was very familiar. I felt something poke into my arm and shook harder. I had no control over myself.

"Her heart rate is climbing up and she's showing signs of a heart attack." My head rolled to the side and I saw Carlisle standing over me. He was wearing his lab coat and he looked very serious.

"Bella can you hear me?" He asked and flashed a little light in my eyes. "Can you see me?" I wanted to respond, but I couldn't move or speak.

"Anna, straighten her head and inject her again. Bella, can you hear me?" Carlisle's worried eyes were the last thing I saw before my eyes slipped closed of their own accord. The last sound I heard was a monitor going flat. Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep. Then, complete silence. Only darkness and deafening silence.


	11. Chapter 11

Sorry I haven't updated yet guys. A friend of mine was in an accident and with school starting tomorrow, I won't be able to update until this weekend. I'll try to update on Friday, so please be patient. Thank you.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N:** Sorry for the long wait guys. Things are getting very hectic for me. I hope you enjoy this chapter :D

**DISCLAIMER:** I own nothing, but Carlisle can own me any day ;D

**Warning:** I know nothing about being a doctor, so I made up all the doctor-ish words. Please, do not attempt injecting yourself with adrenaline. Thank you. Enjoy the story.

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xxXxx

Geeks in Love is now:

**Where the Heart Lies**

Slow, measured beeping. Beep . . . Beep . . . Beep . . . Beep. Lights. Blinding, bright lights. Beep . . . Beep . . . Beep . . . Beep. Whispers. Quick, hushed whispers. Beep . . . Beep . . . Beep . . . Beep. All of the sudden, my body jerked forward with a loud, painful gasp. My hands reached up and ripped out the breathing tube in my mouth.

I jerked around as I tried to rip out the IV tubes on my arms. The monitor beeped faster and flashed a red light when I tore the IV bag open. The beeping got faster and faster. "Shut up, shut up, shut up!" I yelled at the monitor and threw my pillow at it. The beeping was driving me completely insane.

The door opened and people shuffled in. "Get the doctor." A voice said. The monitor still wouldn't shut up. Soon, people were yelling and my body began to shake. My hands flew up to my ears to cover them. "Shut up, shut up! I don't want to hear you!" I shouted as my body continued to shake violently and painfully.

"Hold her down and get an IV back on her." A familiar voice ordered.

"Carlis-" I tried to call out, but my throat closed up and I chocked.

"Get the breathing tube back down her throat or she'll suffocate." The stupid monitor kept on beeping and the voices kept on yelling. My throat hurt, my lungs burned like hell, my eyes were watery and my vision was blurry. Cold hands held me down and a needle broke through my skin. My heart accelerated.

My palms got sweaty and the beeping slowed down considerably. "Damn it, we're losing her." Carlisle said. "Inject her with 2mg of Epinephrine."

"But Doctor that could kill her." Another voice argued.

"Do it!" Carlisle yelled.

"But-"

I felt a sharp pain in my heart and looked up in time to see Carlisle snatching two syringes from a nurse with black hair and injecting them into my side. My body stopped shaking.

"When I tell you what to do for a patient, you do it, because it is your job as a nurse to follow a doctor's orders. Now get the hell out of my E.R and don't come back till you can follow my orders." Carlisle shouted. I'd never heard him so angry. My heart rate went back to normal as my eyes slipped closed. Silence. Complete silence. My brain slowly shut down.

My eyes opened slowly and I took in my surroundings. Chairs, table, tv, monitor, Edward, IV, flowers . . . wait, Edward? What's Edward doing here? . . . Asleep . . . Next to me. I shifted slightly and his eyes opened abruptly.

"Oh god, you're awake." He got up and ran out of the room. "Nurse, nurse! She's awake!" He shouted. 'What the hell am I doing in the hospital?' I thought to myself. Edward rushed back into the room with a nurse at his side.

The nurse felt my forehead and checked the monitor. "I'll let the doctor know you're up Ms. Swan." She said and left the room.

"Everyone is worried about you." Edward said and stroked my cheek. "Especially your parents." He took a seat on the bed, next to my leg and leaned down to kiss my forehead.

"Why am I here?" I asked. My voice was hoarse and my throat burned.

"You had a seizure and a heart attack, then you went into cardiac arrest. You've been here for almost four days." He said and took my hand. I could suddenly remember everything that had happened. Charlie walked in with Carlisle right behind him. When Charlie came over to hug me, Edward moved over a little, but didn't let go of my hand.

"Thank god you're alright." He said and kissed the side of my head. "Renee will be here soon. She went down to the cafeteria to get coffee with Emmett." I could tell by looking at his face, he hadn't slept in over 48 hours.

Charlie moved aside so Carlisle could examine me, but Edward stayed right where he was. "How are you feeling Bella?" He asked, feeling the back and side of my head.

"Alright I guess."

"Do you feel any pain?"

"No."

"Follow my finger with your eyes." He said and flashed a small light in my eyes. He moved his finger up and down and side to side. "You do remember who you are, don't you?" He joked and clicked the light off.

"Why? Am I suffering from memory loss?" I asked and he frowned.

"When's your birthday? I have to make sure you're not having trouble remembering anything."

"September 13th."

"Alright, you seem to be stable for the time being. We'll keep you for a few more night for observation. You should be good to go in a few days." He gave my hand a gentle squeeze, then left.

I was dying to get answers, but I decided that I'd wait till I was home to start asking questions. After about an hour and a half of smooth talking and begging, I was finally able to convince Charlie and Renee to go home and get some rest.

"You have a few visitors." Edward said, looking over at the door. Just about the entire football team was pouring into the room, each wanting to wish me well. There were cards, flowers and balloons all over the place. Tons of others from school stopped by to see how I was doing.

I froze up a little when Emmett, Alice and Jasper walked in. Emmett glared over at Edward before coming over to my side. He gently took my right hand into his and kissed it. "Baby, what happened?" His voice broke a little bit. His eyes were glistening and red around the edges as if he'd been crying.

I reached up and pulled his head down to my chest. My fingers weaved through his thick, curly hair. "I can only remember a few things, one of them being blood; lots of it." I said and Emmett chocked back a cry. Alice and Jasper were standing over by Edward and had yet to say anything.

The room was completely quite, save for my heavy breathing and Emmett's sighs and sniffles, along with the stupid monitor. "What the hell happened to 'you'll be the first to know if it gets serious' huh Bella?" Jasper asked, quoting my exact words from our last conversation. My mouth went dry and my heart began to beat faster. Unfortunately though, the monitor also beeped faster, indicating my change in heart rate.

All eyes were on me now. I didn't know whether to tell the truth or lie to them, so I did both. "Jasper, what was bothering me isn't what landed me in the hospital." _Very true_. "There's nothing serious going on. Really, I'm fine." Lies, lies and more lies.

"She's lying!" Alice called out. "The first part of what she said is true, but the rest is all bullshit." I shot her a disbelieving look and she sent me a cold glare, daring me to call her out.

"Why the fuck do you care if I lie to you?" I asked her. Seeing as we're not friends, I don't owe her shit, especially not the truth.

"Friends don't lie to each other, so quit fucking around and tell us what's going on." She snapped and glared.

"Oh fuck you, we are not friends. When I tried to tell you what was going on, you got pissed and called me an attention whore. If you want a "friend" then run back to Rosalie, because I've got nothing to say to a bitch like you."

"Fuck you! You're just-…" She tried to find her words.

"What are you trying to say? I'm what? Jealous of you? I don't think so. You can take whatever the fuck else you have to say to me and shove it up your ass." I wanted her to shut up and go away.

"I don't care if we're no longer friends. I'm not going to stand by and watch you lie about someone or something that nearly killed you. How can you say this shit isn't serious?" She was angry and she was going to give me a piece of her mind whether I wanted it or not.

"It isn't serious and it damn sure isn't any of your business!" I yelled. She looked ready to slap me across the face.

"Two fucking seizures and a heart attack! How much more do you need to take this seriously? You can bitch and whine all you want, but I'm making this my business. I'll sit here all damn night and call you out on your bullshit, if that's what it takes for you to tell us the truth." She made her point by dragging a chair over to me and taking a seat. "I've got all night." She said and made herself comfortable.

For a second, I wondered if I could have a nurse kick her out. "Oh, and if you're thinking of having me thrown out of here, it's not going to happen. Not while my dad runs this place." She said and folded her arms across her chest. "Tell us what happened." She demanded.

"It's not serious."

"You're laying in a hospital bed for crying out loud." I ignored her and pushed the red button on my right to page a nurse. The nurse was in the room within seconds.

"Is everything alright?" The nurse asked.

"I'm really tired. Can I get some meds to put me to sleep?"I said and she nodded. She left and came back with a syringe. She injected something into my IV and I began to feel drowsy. I looked over at Jasper with sad eyes.

"Sorry Jazz." I don't want to lie to them, but I can't drag them into _this_, whatever _this_ is. "It's best if none of you know what happened. Alice, you can't call my bullshit if I'm asleep." I finished with a smug smile. I sat up a little to kiss Emmett, then turned on my side so I could sleep. I looked over at Edward and he was staring at me intently.

"Goodnight." I whispered, then drifted off to sleep.

I woke up to the sound of people arguing. I peaked my left eye open to see what all the commotion was about. Charlie and Renee were standing next to Carlisle and a nurse, who was arguing with Edward. "We can't leave you alone in here." The nurse said.

"I won't be alone. Bella will be here to keep me company." Edward said with a chuckle.

"Sir, you don't understand. You can't-" Edward cut her off.

"No, you don't understand. I'm. Not. Going. Anywhere." He said menacingly. "I don't care that visiting hours are over, I don't care that you and her parents don't want me in here, and I certainly don't care that it's her boyfriend that should be in here with her. What I care about is her and I'm not leaving her side." Edward said stubbornly.

My heart clenched and beat harder. Edward cares. My throat hurt and it was hard to talk. Edward got up and came over to my side. "Hey, how are you holding up?" He asked and pushed loose strands of hair away from my face.

"I need you to go-" I began to say but Edward cut me off.

"Are you sure you want me to leave? I mean, if you do I will, but I-" He rambled.

"No, I don't want you to leave. I just want you to go get me something to eat; I hate hospital food, it tastes . . . sanitary." I said and made a face.

He smiled and nodded. "What do you want to eat?"

"Pancakes. I want like 18 of them, with syrup and whip cream . . . and raspberries—lots and lots of raspberries okay?" I said and he chuckled.

"I'll get right on that." He said and turned to leave.

"Edward?" I called after him.

"Yeah?" _Don't take too long because I already miss you, I wanted to say._

"Don't forget, I want tons of raspberries." I said instead and he nodded. He left with Carlisle and the nurse right behind him. I felt a pang in my heart when he walked out, but I ignored it.

"Oh baby, I'm so glad you're awake. I was so worried. I can't remember the last time I was this terrified to lose you." Renee said, with tears in her eyes.

"Were you this scared when Thomas Brady kidnapped me?" I mumbled to myself, but she heard me and gasped. Her eyes got wider and she looked as if she would pass out.

"Bella, I . . ."

"How long were you planning on keeping it from me huh?" I asked angrily, now that the cat was out of the bag. Charlie was looking at Renee with confusion written all over his face.

"That's all in the past honey, it's not important anymore." Renee really had some nerve.

"Didn't I deserve to know? I was abducted as a child and you didn't think it was important enough for me to know?"

"Bella, please calm down. We have to watch your heart rate and your blood pressure."

"What the hell is going on?" Charlie asked, giving Renee a questioning look.

"Um dad . . . Mom, you really . . . I just . . . I think you should . . . It'd be best if you went home with dad Renee." I need some time to myself." I was finally able to say after many failed attempts at forming a coherent sentence.

"Bella, I may not know what's going on," He said, glaring at Renee. "But there is no way in hell we're leaving you here all alone." Charlie said as Renee hung her head in shame.

"Dad I won't be alone, Edward's coming right back. Plus, the nurses are just down the hall. You and _Renee_ should go home. You look like hell and I know for a fact that you could use some sleep." I had never really called my mom "Renee" to her face. I always called her mom or mommy, but at the moment, I saw her less as a mother and more of a deceiving woman.

Charlie looked at me then turned back to Renee. "My daughter was abducted and you kept that from me? You couldn't be bothered to pick up the phone and call me when it happened?" Charlie asked icily, in a voice barely above a whisper. Calm, angry Charlie is way worse than yelling, angry Charlie. Charlie was angry (and he had every right to be), despite his calm voice.

"I only did what I thought was best at the time." Renee sobbed.

"I can't handle all of this right now. Can we discuss this when I'm better and out of the hospital? I don't need another heart attack." I said with a chuckle, trying to lighten the mood for Charlie. I couldn't bring myself to feel anything towards Renee at the moment.

Charlie frowned. "Heart attacks aren't funny Bella." He said, disapproving of my joke.

"We'll see you tomorrow baby." Renee said and moved in to kiss my cheek. I shifted away from her and she gave me a sad smile and stepped back.

"We'll be back bright and early tomorrow, alright sport?" Charlie gave me a playful nudge. "Call my cell if anything else happens." He said and walked out. Renee looked at me one more time, then followed Charlie out. I closed my eyes, because I couldn't bear to watch her leave, no matter how angry I was with her.

I took a deep breath and let my body relax. After a few minutes of silence, I completely lost it. "Shit, Shit, Shit! Damn it!" I shouted into the empty room. I grabbed the gross plate of hospital food from the table on my side and threw it across the room. "Ugh! Why does this scary shit happen to me? FUCK!"

I pressed my palms into my eyes and resisted the urge to slap myself. I shouldn't have wasted that food, no matter how gross it looked. I heard a knock at the door and looked up. "What did that poor food do to deserve being thrown across the room like that?" Edward teased as he walked in and closed the door behind him.

He had two brown paper bags and was sporting a sexy grin. "I'm trying to deal with some anger."

"So you take it out on your food?" He chuckled. "Maybe these pancakes will help you act less like a psycho." He said with a grin and motioned for me to scoot over. I moved over to make room for him and he sat next to me. I attacked the raspberries the second they were out of the bag.

We ate quietly up until Edward broke the silence. "I didn't mean what I said before, I was being stupid and I wasn't thinking." He made no eye contact as he spoke.

"What?" I was confused as to what he was talking about.

"What I said the other night. You're not easy and you're most definitely not a slut. I didn't mean any of it . . . well, except for when I said I wanted to have sex with you, I meant that part. That offer still stands by the way." He said, finally looking into my eyes.

A deep blush streaked my cheeks and I couldn't hide it. "I don't know whether to slap you or take that as a compliment." I said, blushing again. "Thanks for the food." I said, trying to change the subject.

"Kiss me and we'll call it even." He replied with a sly grin.

"Sooo not gonna happen." I laughed.

"Eh, it was worth a try." He said with an innocent smile.

"Thank you for staying . . .really . . . even after everyone else got kicked out."

"Again, a kiss will even things out nicely." Does he ever give up?

"No." I said and he erupted with laughter. When we finished eating, he turned on the tv and put on a show. One minute we're sitting there watching tv, and the next minute, Edward is laying down, with his head in my lap and I'm stroking his soft hair.

"I love reality tv." He said to me.

"Well I hate it. Who the hell watches this crap anyways?"

"Me! Jersey Shore is the best show on television." He argued. "I'd be insane without it."

"This show is a load of crap. I'm losing brain cells just by watching. All they do is tan the hell out of themselves and humiliate themselves on national television with the ridiculous stuff they do. The girls are so trashy; who wants to get wasted on tv and exploit their sex life for ratings? Only a moron, that's who." I said and he glared up at me.

"Hey, don't bash my show. They know how to party in Jersey. And what's wrong with getting wasted and having fun on tv?" I frowned and pushed his head off my lap.

"You're a moron." I said and adjusted the bed to lean back so I could sleep comfortably.

"At least I'm a moron that knows how to party."

"No, you're a moron with low standards." I said and his eyes darkened. He gave me a predatory look before crawling on top of me and straddling me. Oh dear god, he's going to be the death of me.

"I have very high standards. Do I turn you on?" Edward asked in a barely audible whisper. "Do I turn you on like you turn me on?

I gulped and squeezed my eyes shut. "No." I tried to sound strong, but my voice came out as a whimper. Edward chuckled and leaned down so his face was right in front of mine. His warm breath washed over my face. "I don't turn you on Edward, you just want to believe I do." I said, not really making any sense.

"I beg to differ." He said and ground his erection into my thigh. I gasped and held back a moan. "You're fucking gorgeous and I want you all for myself." He said in a sexy, thrilling voice. He leaned in closer and gently bit the sensitive spot on my neck. I couldn't hold back the moan that escaped me.

I put my hands on his chest—his strong, built chest— and pushed him away.

"You know as well as I do that nothing can happen between us Edward." I said and got a sick feeling in my stomach. My mind had to fight like hell to make sure I didn't throw myself at Edward. My body on the other hand, had completely lost control and had long since surrendered to him. It's as if my body had a mind of its own, a very dirty mind, but a mind nonetheless.

"You can say whatever you want, but I know you want me as much as I want you, even if you don't know it yet." He said and got off me. He lied down beside me and stroked my hair till I fell asleep.

The sun was out and I was at the park back in phoenix. Renee was sitting on a bench with two other women and I was playing on the swings with a little boy. I looked about five or six and the little boy looked about my age. He was pushing me on the swing and I was giggling.

"Push me higher Anthony!" I yelled excitedly. The cute little boy nodded and pushed me higher. He pushed and pushed till I flew off the swing and landed on the pavement with a thud. "Bella!" He yelled and ran over to me.

I sat up and cried. "I'm sorry Bella. I didn't mean to hurt you." The little boy said. Renee rushed over and scooped me up.

"Oh baby are you okay?" She asked and inspected me. After a while, I stopped crying and Renee disinfected and covered my cuts with band-aids.

"Are you okay Bella?" The little boy asked.

"No, you let me fall off the swing. I don't like you anymore Anthony." I pouted.

The little boy frowned and his eyes glistened. He looked a bit familiar. His sharp green eyes were piercing and his bronze-ish hair looked almost red in the sunlight.

"Well then I don't want to be your friend either. Girls suck." He said and stomped his foot.

"Do not! Girls are pretty and boys smell." I got up and pushed him down. He fell on his butt and glared up at me. He stood up and dusted himself off.

"Well, girls have cooties! And you're not pretty." He said and pushed me down. I wailed and Renee ran over to me with her friend.

"What's wrong?" Renee asked.

"Anthony is being a meanie. He said I'm not pretty and pushed me." I tattled.

"Why would you do that?" The lady next to Renee—who must have been Anthony's mom— asked Anthony.

"She said I smell! And she said she didn't want to be my friend anymore." He tattled back.

"Is this true Bella?" Renee asked.

"No!" I lied.

"She's lying! She's a liar, liar, pants on fire. Make her tell the truth!" Anthony yelled and stomped his foot again. I glared at him and pushed him.

"Bella! What has gotten into you?" Renee asked, angrily.

"He's a meanie! He said I wasn't pretty!" I yelled.

"Shut up! You're lying!" Anthony yelled and his mom glared at him.

"Apologize to Bella right now." She said and he threw a fit.

"Bella, you can't be mean to him. He's your friend." Renee said.

"But he said I have cooties." I cried.

"Honey, he must really love your cooties because he pushes you on the swings every day." Renee said with a smile. "Why don't you forgive him and apologize." She suggested.

"Okay." I gave in with a sigh.

"Sorry I pushed you Anthony. You don't smell and I want you to be my friend again." I said and he smiled.

"I want to be your friend too Bella, even though you have cooties." He said with a crooked smile.

I growled and pushed him again. "I don't have cooties you stupid-head!" I yelled and marched over to the blue slide. A boy tripped me when I tried to climb up the slide and I fell. I wailed and Anthony came running over. He punched the kid in the face and helped me up.

"Tell Bella you're sorry Jacob!" Anthony ordered.

"No!" Jacob yelled.

Anthony punched him again and he hit Anthony back. Jacob kicked sand in Anthony's face and ran off. I ran after Jacob and tackled him. "You can't hit my best friend!" I said and hit him in the face. I ran back to Anthony and helped him up.

"Are you okay?" I asked and he nodded.

"I like your cooties." He said as we walked to the swings.

"I like your big stupid head." I said and he smirked.

"I won't hurt you anymore Bella. You're safe with me." He said and hugged me. I pulled back and looked into his soothing green orbs. Anthony really did have beautiful eyes.

Everything went dark and I was alone. When the lights finally turned on, Anthony was lying on the floor, covered in blood and barely breathing. I ran over to him, tears running down my face. When I finally reached him, he got up and smeared his blood on my dress.

I ran away from him screaming and he chased me, "You can't get away Bella! I will catch up to you. You can't escape me!"

I was jerked out of my dream by a bloodcurdling shriek. The lights turned on and Edward stepped in front of me. The shrieks got louder and louder. "Bella, calm down. Please stop screaming." So the screaming was coming from me?

I looked into his green eyes and stopped screaming. "I won't hurt you Bella. You're safe with me." He said and held his hand out to me. "I swear, I won't hurt you." He said softly.

My head was spinning. I was getting dizzy and everything was starting to look blurry. Nothing was making sense. What's going on?

"You're safe with me Bella, I promise." He said again. The words rang over and over in my head.

"Anthony?"

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A/N: Thoughts? Please review :D


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: Okay, so I know a few of you are confused. Everything will be cleared up in the next few chapters. At this point, confusion is good. You'll be kind of left in the dark till Bella finds the light. Things will get suspenseful again, so bear with me please. I will try to update soon, but I can't make any promises. I have homework and my parents are constantly on my ass about staying off the computer. I'll update when I can sneak on :D Thank you :)


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: Sorry for the long wait guys. Things are sucking majorly for me and school is hell. I know this chapter is short, but it's to hold you over till the next update which should be either Sunday or Tuesday :D

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing, but Carlisle can own me any day ;D

xxXxx

Geeks in Love is now:

**Where the Heart Lies**

A nurse was standing over by the door, looking terrified. "She'll be fine. It was just a nightmare." Edward said to the nurse and she nodded. She injected me with something to help me relax and left. Edward turned back to me and took slow, steady steps. Once he was directly in front of me, he reached out and pulled me to him. I let him hold me while I cried.

When he loosened his arms, I held him tighter. "Anthony, don't go." I begged, partly loopy from the meds. I heard his breath hitch when I said Anthony. Who the hell is Anthony anyway? All this medication is making me insane. His name isn't Anthony, its Edward! I was getting frustrated with myself.

"I'm not going anywhere Bella." He said and stroked my hair soothingly. He let out a deep sigh and I looked up at him. The intensity of his green eyes nearly crushed me. His powerful green eyes smothered me. He said nothing as he gazed into my eyes.

"Anthony, is that your name?" I asked and he flinched.

"It's my middle name. Why do you ask?" He asked, raising his eyebrows.

"I think I saw you . . . in my nightmare." I said quietly, realizing how insane I sounded. I didn't meet Edward till I came to Forks, so there's no way in hell we were childhood friends. Must be some other Anthony. My brain should just shut down, so I can't think about anything.

"Bella, what's going on?" He asked, sounding very concerned. I knew that saying anything to him would only make me seem more insane, but I didn't want to lie to him.

"I feel crazy. You must think I'm crazy now." I whispered and looked down. His hand reached out and tilted my head back so I could look up at him. He leaned in very close and pressed his lips softly against mine. My body craved his touch and it took everything I had in me not to kiss him back.

He pulled back and tucked a few strands of hair behind my ear. "Bella, I've known you were crazy from the moment I first laid eyes on you." He said with a grin. I frowned involuntarily. "Crazy isn't always a bad thing." He said and held my hand.

I told him everything; all the nightmares and what landed me in the hospital. I left out the dream about "Anthony." He listened carefully and let me get everything out into the open.

"Something is going on Edward. Showers don't just pour out blood." I said and shivered. The whole scene with the bloody shower was still hiding in my thoughts. He nodded and squeezed my hand comfortingly. "This must have something to do with Renee."

"You think so?" He asked.

"I'm sure it does. She knew I was kidnapped and said nothing to Charlie and I think she tried to make me forget it. I know that something is up." I had every reason to suspect Renee wasn't going to tell me the truth when I confronted her.

"Nothing is making sense." Edward said to himself.

"Welcome to my world. Renee looked liked she would have a heart attack when I brought up Brady."

"Brady?" Edward asked.

"Thomas Brady." Edward froze and got a distant look in his eyes. "Edward?"

He didn't move or say anything.

"Edward, are you okay?" I asked and nudged him. He finally looked at me.

"Bella . . . I . . . I have to go." He said and got up.

"Edward, please don't go." I said and grabbed his hand.

"I _have_ to go." He said and tried to get his hand out of my grip.

"Please." I begged. "I can't stay here alone."

"I'll be right back Bella. I have to go home and grab something." He said. I got the feeling he was trying to hide something from me. Whatever it was, I had to know.

"I don't want to stay here, take me with you." I said.

"I can't do that."

"It wasn't a request Edward." I said and got out of bed. I unhooked all the wires that were attached to me and grabbed the bag Renee had left in the corner for me. I pulled out a t-shirt and dark jeans.

"You can't come Bella." Edward protested.

"Unless you're going to tie me to the bed to keep me here, I'm going with you." I said and got dresses. I tried ignore how his eyes roamed over my body, but failed miserably and blushed a deep red.

"I would love to tie you to the bed, but not under these circumstances." He said with a smile that didn't reach his eyes. Something was definitely wrong.

"What's wrong Edward?" I asked and touched his arm. He flinched.

"Nothing. I just though the name Thomas Brady rang a bell." He said and my heart skipped a beat.

"Edward, if you know anything at all, you have to tell me." I said, my eyes getting watery.

He pulled me into his arms. "Don't get your hopes up too much. It might be nothing but I think I saw a paper in my mom's room with that name on it a few years back. I might have seen an article on him-if he's the right Thomas Brady anyway- somewhere in my house. I was eight at the time and my mom scolded me when she found me reading the article. I don't remember what it was about, but I have a feeling that it could somehow be related to you." He said.

"Let's go find it then."

We sneaked down to the second floor and climbed down through a window. We then ran to Edward's car and he drove us to his house. "Emmett and my parents are home right now, so keep it down." He said. We tiptoed past the kitchen and froze when we heard Edward's mom call out.

"Edward honey, is that you?" She asked from the kitchen.

"Does anyone else have a key to the house mother?" He snapped.

"So you're finally home?" She asked, ignoring his rude comment.

"Would I be here, standing in the hallway talking to you if I wasn't home?" He growled and I hit him. He glared at me and led me up the stairs. "I'm going to my room. Don't bother me!" He yelled as we went up.

"You don't have to be rude to her." I said with a glare.

"Whatever." He replied and kept leading me up the stairs. A door opened and Edward pushed me behind a wall.

"What are you doing here?" I heard Emmett's voice. I so badly wanted to jump out and hug Emmett.

"I _live_ here." Edward snapped at him too. I wanted to punch Edward.

"I thought you were staying with Bella." Emmett said somberly. Oh, my poor baby.

"Yeah so?" Edward was really asking to get hit.

"Stay away from her Edward. I'm warning you." Emmett said menacingly.

"Or what Emmett? What the hell are you going to do huh? You're scared shitless because you know as well as I do that she has feelings for me." Edward said with a dark chuckle.

"I'm going to kick your ass if you don't stay away from her." Emmett threatened.

"I don't think so. No worries though, once she's mine, I'll let you have Tanya—although she's not anywhere as good as Bella, she'll do I suppose." He sneered. As soon as the words left his mouth, Emmett punched him in the face. Edward slowly fell back and hit the floor. Emmett got on top of him and hit him repeatedly.

"Fuck you! You're not taking her from me, I won't let you." He yelled as he pounded Edward.

"Stop it!" I shrieked and attempted to pull Emmett back. He pushed me back and I hit the wall. "Get off him Emmett! You're going to kill him!" I shouted. Elizabeth ran up the stairs and pulled Emmett off Edward.

"What is going on?" She exclaimed and pulled Edward up to his feet.

"Nothing!" Edward spat and wiped the blood from his mouth. He helped me up and began to lead me to his room. Emmett grabbed my other hand and pulled me to him. Edward growled and pulled me back toward him.

"Let her go!" Emmett growled and pulled me close.

"You let her go! She isn't here for you! She followed _me_ here on her own free will." Edward said viciously and pulled me against his chest.

"You're a fucking Idiot! She's supposed to be resting and you kidnap her from the hospital." Emmett accused and pulled on my arm.

"I'm the idiot? You pushed her into the fucking wall!" Edward shouted and Emmett flinched. He looked at me and my heart instantly broke. He looked so pained.

I yanked my arms from both of their grips and went down the stairs as fast as I could without tripping. They of course, quickly caught up with me.

"Where are you going?" Edward asked.

"Take me back to the hospital." I demanded and yanked open the car door.

"But-"

"Now Edward!"

Edward got in and started the car. Emmett rushed over to the passenger side and gently took my hand.

"Bella, I'm so sorry." He said and squeezed my hand a little.

"Don't be. You didn't mean to." I said and pulled my hand back. He sadly closed the door and Edward pulled out of the driveway. The ride back to the hospital was silent. As soon as we got there, I got out and went inside. Carlisle spotted me and jogged over.

"Where the hell have you been Bella?" He asked, pulling me into a hug.

"I went out for some air." I lied and he frowned at me.

"Do you know how worried your parents are? You can't just get up and leave whenever you feel like it." He said, escorting me back to my room. "You're going back to bed and staying there till you're well enough to leave." He said and I nodded.

When we walked into the room, Charlie and Renee ran over and hugged me. I could tell they were angry, but I couldn't bring myself to care. I shrugged them off and went into the bathroom to change back into my hospital gown.

When I walked out of the bathroom, Charlie and Renee looked ready to kick my ass half way across the world. "What were you thinking?" Charlie asked.

"I wasn't thinking at all." I said and got in bed.

"Why would you leave without saying anything?" Renee asked and I glared at her.

"Because I hate it here. I'd rather be dead in a ditch than spend one more night in this hell hole! I want . . . I want" I began to say but closed my mouth.

"What do you want?" Renee snapped. I could tell she was losing her patience with me.

"I want for you to stop lying to me; I want you to tell me the honest truth! Actually, I want you to leave me alone. I just want to be left alone!" I snapped and pulled the sheets over my head. I fell asleep after that. A nurse must have stopped by and hooked my IV back up.

I felt a warm body pressed into my side when I regained consciousness. I looked down and my heart skipped a few beats. Emmett was pressed snugly into my side, his head just above my stomach. He was beautiful and peaceful when he slept. My heart beat faster in my chest. The man I love. The guy I've given my heart to. I ran my fingers through is hair and he shifted.

His eyes fluttered open and he let out a slight groan. He began to get up, but I moved over a little and pulled his head down to my stomach. He moved up and placed his head on my chest. "I'm so sorry Bella. I fucked up and I wish I could take it all back. God, I love you so much it scares me." He whispered against my chest.

I kissed his lips softly and held him close. "You didn't mean to. I know you'd never knowingly hurt me. You should go back to sleep, you look very tired." I said and continued to weave my fingers through his hair. I began to lightly massage his scalp and he soon fell asleep.

I have the most wonderful boyfriend and yet I can't seem to control myself around his cousin. The door opened and Edward walked in, sporting a grin. His smile fell instantly when he saw Emmett in bed with me. He walked out and slammed the door behind him. My heart clenched a little, but I let it go. I have Emmett. I shouldn't care about Edward . . . not in a romantic way anyway.

"You want him." My cynical side teased. "You need him."

No I don't. No I don't. No I don't. I only wish Edward was here so he could help me get to the bottom of all the crap surrounding Brady.

"That's not true. You want him and you want him bad."

"Shut up stupid voice inside my head" . . . Oh my god, I'm talking to myself . . . I've finally lost it.

I closed my eyes and willed myself to sleep. Maybe when I wake up, this will have all been a dream.

When I woke up, Emmett was gone. The spot where he had been was cold so he must have been gone a while. The door opened and I looked up, hoping it was Emmett. No such luck. Alice walked in with Edward and I silently groaned. This must not be good if Alice is here. As much as I wanted to convince myself to hate Alice, I knew I never could. I just wished she'd snap out of whatever trance she was in so we could be best friends again.

Edward made no eye contact with me as he threw a manila envelope onto my lap.

"What's this?" I asked, picking up the envelope. He glared at me for a few seconds then turned and walked out.

"You really hurt him Bella." Alice said as she turned to follow Edward.

"Who asked you? Edward's a big boy; he knows what he got himself into."

She glanced back once then left. I opened the envelope and dumped its contents out onto my lap. The first thing I saw sent me into shock. Oh dear god, this couldn't have happened. No, no, no. I squeezed my eyes shut and shook my head very fast, as if that would change anything.

"No!" I sobbed into the empty room. My heart was racing and my I was beginning to feel lightheaded. This can't be . . . it just can't! The door opened and Edward walked in. He rushed to my side and put his arm around me.

"Where . . . where did you get these?" I asked and held up the photographs and articles with shaky hands. Why does god hate me so much?

"Bella . . . whatever happened to you in phoenix 12 years ago is worse than you think . . . and someone is going to great lengths to make sure you never find out." He said with a shaky breath.

"Oh god. . ." The photos fell from my hands and I drew a deep breath. "Tell me what you know. . ."

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	15. Chapter 15

"Oh god. . ." The photos fell from my hands and I drew a deep breath. "Tell me what you know. . ."

"Bella are you sure you want to know? Maybe this is something that needs to be left in the past. No need to open up a healed wound." He said, staring intently into my eyes.

"I have to know Edward. I can't move on with my life until I know, why else would all these things be happening?" I could see worry in his eyes. He really didn't want to tell me what he knew.

"I was looking through some stuff when . . ." He began to say, but stopped. He looked into my eyes, then squeezed his eyes shut. "Bella, please let this go."

"Edward, please." I said and reached up to stroke his cheek. I knew it was wrong to mess with his feelings like that, but that didn't stop me. His eyes flew open when I touched his cheek.

He leaned into my touch for a second, then out of nowhere, he grabbed my hand and yanked it away from his face. He frowned and let my hand fall into my lap. "Don't do that again. Nothing personal, but let's try and keep our hands off each other . . . for your boyfriend's sake." He said, with hurt evident in his eyes. "I know it will be difficult to keep your hands off me but try." He joked in an attempt to hide the hurt he obviously felt. I wanted to comfort him but I didn't know how.

I nodded and looked back down at the photos in my lap. "Edward, I wouldn't ask if I didn't think it was necessary." I said and he sighed.

"Okay, but first we have to get out of here. I think Elizabeth and your mom are coming down here to find me. My mom caught me going through a few things and bitched at me." He said and helped me out of bed. He went over to the monitor and messed with it so that it kept beeping even after I removed the tubes in my arm.

"She then called your mom, which confused me. I expected her to call my father, not _your_ mom. I didn't hear the entire conversation, but Brady's name came up a few times. I didn't even know that my mom knew yours, but I put two and two together and Bella, it's bad." He began to gather up the scattered photos and articles and put them back in the envelope.

I ripped off the hospital gown and pulled on dark jeans and a t-shirt. Edward stuffed the envelope into his bag. I looked through the duffel bag Renee had brought a few days ago and retrieved my phone and the charger. "Let's go." Edward said.

I was scared, but I couldn't help but feel a little excitement. It all felt like I was in one of those corny horror films. You know, the ones where a teenager gets themselves into deep shit with a crime and they go on an adventure to solve said crime.

I stuffed my charger into Edward's bag and hugged him. "Thank you." I said and he nodded. He stepped out into the hall and flirted with the nurses sitting at the front desk so I could slip by unnoticed. Once I was in the elevator, Edward ran over. We got off on the third floor to lower the risk of getting caught.

"We have to go down to the parking lot; that's where my car is." He said and I nodded. We took the stairs down to the second floor and took an elevator down to the first. Carlisle was near the front desk, with his back turned to us. Just as we were about to make a run for the entrance, I heard Renee.

"Dr. Brandon! Oh Dr. Brandon, I'm so glad we found you." Just as Edward had said, Renee was with Elizabeth. Carlisle turned to them and nearly saw us.

"Mrs. Dwyer, Mrs. Cullen is there something I can help you with?" Carlisle asked with a kind smile.

"It's Edward! He's after Bella. He left the house in pure rage and he might be up in Bella's room right now." Elizabeth said and Renee nodded in agreement.

"That lying bitch." Edward huffed.

"Don't let him hurt my baby." Renee said in what I knew was fake fear. Have they gone mad? Why the hell would Edward hurt me? Do they even know what they're talking about? I looked up at Edward with a questioning gaze, but he looked over in his mom's direction.

"Please remain calm. We will go upstairs and you will see that Bella is alright. Edward couldn't have gotten into her room without a nurse knowing. The only person who was allowed in there was Emmett, and he left a few hours ago." Carlisle said reassuringly.

"I just hope my baby is alright." Renee said with a sniff and Elizabeth patted her back. My god, they are pathetic. Whatever it is they're hiding must really be important if they're stooping down to this low.

"I can assure you she's fine. Her nurse has been checking in on her every hour." Carlisle said and led them to the elevator. The second the elevator doors closed, we ran for it. On our way out, a nurse dropped a tray and scalpels and syringes went flying all over the place. I helped her clean up the mess, then I stole a scalpel and ran out to the parking lot with Edward. It was raining like hell. There were giant puddles all over the place.

I ran over to Elizabeth's car and tried to cut the tires. The scalpel was too small and only made little cuts. Edward got on top of the car and kicked the windshield several times, effectively breaking it. "That should keep them occupied for a while." He said with a smile. He looked thoroughly satisfied with what he had done. We got in his car and he drove off.

"Call your dad and let him know you're fine." Edward said as he pulled into a gas station. I picked up my phone and began to dial Charlie's number. "Don't use your cell phone, there's a payphone over there." I ran over to the payphone while Edward went into the store.

I quickly dialed Charlie's number. It rang three times before he picked up. "Charlie Swan speaking." He said.

"Hi Dad." I said, very antsy.

"Bella, why are you calling me from a payphone?" He asked and I cleared my throat several times.

"Mom's at the hospital." I said quietly.

"I know. She told me she was going to see you." He said casually.

"She's actually looking for me. I left the hospital." I said slowly.

"WHAT?" He yelled. I was in for it now. "What the hell are you thinking? You better get back to that hospital this instant!" I could practically hear the screws turning in his head.

"I'm not going back dad. I need to know what happened to me in Phoenix and Renee damn sure isn't going to tell me. I'm tired of being lied to. I have the right to know the truth." I cried into the phone.

"Bella, calm down. I'm sure we can fix all of this. We'll sit down and have a talk with your mom. Everything will be fine, just come home or go back to the hospital. Please Bella." Charlie said. I didn't want to hurt him. I didn't want to make him worry, but there really was no other way. Renee won't talk.

"I'm sorry dad but I can't. I have to go now." I said, more tears streaming down my face. I couldn't feel the hot tears because the rain had soaked me from head to toe.

"Bella don't do this. Just please come home."

"Don't bother tracing this number and finding the payphone, I'm going to Texas for a few days, then I'm going to Nevada, then maybe I'll come back to Forks." I lied.

"What in god's name are you trying to do? Why are you Texas and Nevada? Have you been kidnapped? Is that it?" He asked with worry.

"No, I'm going to find some answers. I'll call you regularly to check in. I'll use a disposable phone so you'll have no way of finding me. Don't tell Renee where I'm heading. I love you dad and please, don't worry about me." I said and hung up the phone. I used my sleeve to wipe my fingerprints off the phone then walked into the tiny store.

Edward was at the register, paying for a few things. He filled two red containers with gas, then drove us towards his house. "What are we doing at your house? I told Charlie I was going to Texas then Nevada." I said and he shushed me. He parked his car in the driveway.

"My house is empty right now and we have less than an hour before Emmett and my dad get home. We have to grab a few things and split." He said and let us in through the garage. He shut the garage and we ran upstairs. I opened the door to his room and shrieked.

Alice was standing by Edward's closet. "What the hell Edward? You said the house would be empty." I yelled at Edward and hit him. "I nearly had a heart attack."

He smiled went to his closet. He peeled off his wet clothes and changed into a dry outfit. Hmmm nice body. "Hey Alice." He waved at her then ran into his bathroom. I didn't know what to say to her so I said nothing. She clicked her tongue and rolled her eyes.

"I brought you some dry clothes." She said with a smile. It wasn't the evil-I'm-bffs-with-the-skanks-now kind of smile. It was the Alice-is-back-and-she-wants-to-be-my-bff-again kind of smile. I wanted to pull her into a hug but I didn't. Instead, I snatched the clothes from her then turned around to change.

She picked up my wet clothes along with Edward's wet clothes and left. Edward came out of the bathroom with a duffle bag and ran to his closet. "I asked Alice to sneak into your house and grab you some clothes." He said and stuffed the bag with clothes.

"I guess that's okay." I said and looked around.

"Bella, give her a break she's sorry." He said and grabbed another duffel bag.

"I don't think she deserves a break." I snapped.

"Then you're an idiot." He said and tossed some sneakers into the bag. "She's a damn good friend and you should forgive her."

"Why the hell should I forgive her after what she did?" I said and crossed my arms. "Give me one good reason!"

"Because _I'm_ an idiot and I was a crappy friend and I'm really sorry for all the things I said to you Bella. I was finally cool and the skanks wanted to be friends and I was selfish and for a moment, I forgot why we did all this to begin with. I let it go to my head and I'm sorry." This was the first time I've ever heard Alice make this kind of an apology to anyone.

"You're an overconfident bitch and you manipulate people to get what you want . . . but, that's why we became friends." I said with a smile.

"Am I forgiven?" She asked.

"No, but you're on your way there." I said and she hugged me.

"I love that everything is all flowers and rainbows with you guys again, but my dad will be here soon and we have to get out of here." Edward said. He took the duffel bags down to the garage and we went to his parent's room. Alice picked the lock on an old trunk and opened it.

"Your mom locked the stuff in here before she left." Alice said to Edward.

Edward grabbed the folders in the trunk and put them in his school bag. He put the lock back on the trunk and we headed back to his room. He took his laptop and put it in his bag.

"Bella, look in my closet. There's a red box at the very top of the shelf. Grab it and bring it here." I nodded and got him the box. He opened it and I gasped. The box was full of money.

"What the hell?" I squeaked.

"My safety deposit." He said with a grin. " I don't trust the bank."

He shoved the money into a bag and zipped it up. "What's your plan?" Alice asked curiously.

"I don't know yet, but we have to lay low for tonight. After we figure things out, we'll head to Florida to search Renee's house, then we'll head to Arizona." Edward said and looked at me. "Sound good?" He asked and I nodded.

"Yeah."

"Alright, well I got you the rental car you asked for. I rented it under a different name and paid in cash, so you're in the clear for now." Alice said. Alice and I went to the kitchen to eat while Edward loaded the duffel bags into the car.

"This is so stupid. I don't know what the hell I'm doing!" I said in frustration.

"There's nothing stupid about wanting to know the truth Bella. You have every right to want to know what happened in Phoenix and what's going on now. If you want to go through with this, I'll help you out. I can lead Charlie and Renee off your trail till you're out of Forks." Alice said.

"Thanks Alice." I said and hugged her for comfort. We're not quite where we were before, but she's making an effort to fix our friendship and that's enough for now.

"Let's go." Edward said when he walked into the kitchen. The rental car was actually a pretty nice one; a red camero. I grinned and got into the front seat. Alice got in the back and we took off. We drove to Seattle and looked around for an unsuspicious looking motel.

We checked into a room under the name Claudia Dennison and paid in cash. Alice and I sat in the room while Edward checked out the motel parking lot for easy escape routes in case Charlie found us. "Geez Bella, you need to get some sleep, you look like hell." Alice said.

"Thanks for the kind, friendly words." I got up from the chair and moved to one of the beds. "I'm a little tired; I should probably try to catch up on all the sleep I've lost." I said and buried my face into the pillow. Alice stroked my hair till I fell asleep.

I rolled around and stretched out my arms before opening my eyes. Edward was lying down next to me. He looked adorable when he slept. His eyes opened and revealed his green orbs that seemed to burn into my soul with a deep fire. He smiled at me and leaned in to kiss me. I leaned back and he missed.

"Don't you want to kiss me?" He asked, a bit angry.

"No." I said and the fire in his eyes flared into anger. He grabbed my throat and squeezed. I choked and tried to pry his hand off. My struggles were useless against him because he clearly out powered me. I was going to lose if I didn't do something. I clawed at his hand, but he slapped me across the face with his free hand.

"You thing you can say no to me Bitch? Huh? Do you?" His grip around my throat got tighter and I was sure I was going to die. I was losing air very quickly and soon I would (hopefully) pass out. "I'm talking to you bitch! Answer me!" He yelled. My only response was more chocking and useless gasping.

He chocked me harder, then threw me across the room. I landed on the table with a loud thud and the table broke under my weight. My entire body was sore. What the hell is he doing? I asked myself. I wouldn't stick around to find out. I ran for the door, but he was behind me within seconds and used my hair to pull me back.

I fell at his feet and he yanked me up by the hair. I screamed and begged him to stop, but all he did was hit me in the face repeatedly. "Shut up! Shut up right now!" He yelled into my face. I could feel my face begin to swell up. He smacked me again and I felt blood run down my nose. He wrapped my hair around his fist and dragged me to the bathroom.

"Look at yourself!" He said and raised me to the mirror. I closed my eyes and he kicked me in the back. The shock knocked the wind out of me and I fell forward. He pulled on my hair again. "I said look in the mirror bitch." I shook my head no and he smashed my head into the mirror. "Look in the goddamn mirror!" He yelled and I opened my eyes. I could see the bruises begin to form on my face. My nose was broken and bloody.

"Clean yourself up." He said and threw me to the floor. He kicked me once in the ribs then walked out and slammed the bathroom door. I stayed on the floor and cried out in pain.

"Oh dear god, just kill me now. Kill me and take away the pain." It hurt to move, it hurt to cry and worst than anything, it hurt to breathe. "If there's a god out there, please spare me the pain and take my life." I begged and sobbed.

The door flew open and I froze. "I fucking told you to clean yourself up!" Edward yelled and grabbed my hair again. He dragged me out to the room and I screamed. "You begged for death and now you're going to get it." He said in a bone chilling voice.

He dragged me out to the balcony and dangled me over the edge. "Say the word and I'll let you fall." He said as I cried louder. I screamed and screamed for help, but no one came . . . no one cared. I cried and stared into his dark eyes.

"Why are you doing this?" I sobbed. "Why are you doing this Edward?" I yelled and more tears streaked my face. I could taste the blood in my mouth and I wanted to gag. My stomach wrenched and turned. His smile got wider and his face morphed into an unrecognizable face. This isn't Edward . . . so who is he?

It wasn't Edward I was looking at anymore, this man had a pale face and deep blue eyes. He had a thick mustache and a narrow goatee. He barely had any hair and his teeth were a light shade of yellow. He smiled and chocked me harder. "You're as good as dead when I get to your world bitch!" He growled and threw me over the balcony. I shrieked and fell with a thud.

My eyes opened and I was lying on the floor near one of the motel beds. Edward approached me and I hurried to get up. "You stay away from me!" I yelled and reached for the screwdriver on the table. He moved closer and I pointed the screwdriver at him. "Stay the hell away from me!" He stopped and smiled; not a wicked smile, but a kind smile.

"Bella, you're okay. It's just me. I won't hurt you." He said, holding his hands up as proof. "You had another nightmare, I just want to make sure you're okay I swear." He said and moved a little closer. "I won't hurt you . . . ever. Please put the screwdriver back on the table."

I gripped the screwdriver tighter and before I could register his actions, helunged at me. We both fell to the floor and he ripped the screwdriver away from me. I kneed him in the groin and he yelled. "Uhhh, fuck Bella." He said and gasped for air. He managed to get up and glared down at me.

"I knew I'd be shouting your name someday while lying on top of you, but I kinda pictured it under different circumstances . . . and less clothes." He said with a grin. I quickly got up and pulled him into a hug. It really is him and that really was a nightmare.

"Oh Edward, I'm so sorry. I thought you were going to kill me and throw me over the balcony and . . . I'm so sorry." I said in what I hoped was an apologetic tone.

"If I can't have kids later on, you're giving me your first born and naming your second child after me." He said and hissed in pain when he tried to move. I felt bad so I helped him walk over to the bed.

"I'll get you some ice." I said and ran over to the mini freezer. I got some ice and put it into a rag. If he weren't in so much pain, I would have probably laughed at him. I went over to him and unzipped his pants. (Not for dirty purposes you perves.)

"Finally warming up to me are you?" Edward asked and raised his eyebrows. I shoved the ice to his crotch and he hissed.

"Feel better you asshole." I said and got up. My heart was pounding in my chest and I had to get away from him. I went into the bathroom and washed my face. I looked up into the mirror and was horrified. I looked like a freaking zombie. If I don't get rid of these nightmares, I'll never get sleep I needed to function correctly.

The lights flickered and startled me. I looked up and one of the bulbs popped and sent glass flying everywhere. "Edward?" I yelled as another bulb popped, sending glass shards flying into my face. "Edward get in here!" I yelled and reached for the door.

I felt something pull me back and slam me into the wall. The doorknob jiggled and Edward banged on the door. "Unlock the freaking door!" He yelled. I never locked the door. I was being chocked but couldn't feel anyone in front of me. The lights went off and I felt a warm breath on my face.

"Unlock the door Bella!" Edward yelled and kept pounding. "I'll break it down if you don't open it."

"You will pay for what you did bitch. And did once I cross over, blood will be spilled." Someone said in a soft, menacing whisper. "Until then-" I was thrown to the floor just as the lights came back on. Edward broke down the door as I gasped for air.

"What the hell happened to you?" He asked and helped me up. I touched the back of my head and felt the warm, sticky blood. Just the smell had me nauseous. I looked around the bathroom and nothing seemed to be out of place. The light bulbs were working again and none were broken.

"I think I'm falling asleep involuntarily." How the hell could this happen?

"What do you mean?" Edward asked, pressing a wet towel to the back of my head.

"I mean, my mind keeps taking me into the dream state even when my body is fighting to keep me awake. Edward, whatever's after me in my nightmares is trying to cross over into the real world." I said with a shaky voice. His eyes got wide and he dropped the rag.

"And what exactly is after you?"

"I don't know, but I think Brady's coming back." Hot tears rolled down my cheeks and I didn't know why. My body seemed to be more terrified of Brady than my mind. "I think he's trying to cross over Edward, he said so in the nightmare. The longer we wait to stop him, the more power he's going to gain."

* * *

A/N: And so the lying and running begins. Sorry i didn't update sooner, I've been swamped in homework and essays. I'll try to have the next chapter up by Friday :D Much love, I hope you aren't too confused. I will shed some light on Mr. Brady in the next chapter. Don't worry, Emmett and Alice will have more scenes in the upcoming chapters...maybe even Jasper will get a scene :) Leave a review :D


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N:** Hey guys i'm so so sooo sorry for not posting in forever. It's completely unacceptable but i had finals and things got crazy. School will be out in 3 days and i'll update all the time. _**Here's a little something to hold you over till monday or tuesday.**_

Recap:

"I think I'm falling asleep involuntarily." How the hell could this happen?

"What do you mean?" Edward asked, pressing a wet towel to the back of my head.

"I mean, my mind keeps taking me into the dream state even when my body is fighting to keep me awake. Edward, whatever's after me in my nightmares is trying to cross over into the real world." I said with a shaky voice. His eyes got wide and he dropped the rag.

"And what exactly is after you?"

"I don't know, but I think Brady's coming back." Hot tears rolled down my cheeks and I didn't know why. My body seemed to be more terrified of Brady than my mind. "I think he's trying to cross over Edward, he said so in the nightmare. The longer we wait to stop him, the more power he's going to gain."

xXx Chapter 16 xXx

"Edward, I think he's coming after me." I choked out.

"Alright, we have to leave right now. I wanted to wait till tomorrow but we have to go now." He said and rushed back into the room to grab our stuff.

"Where are we going?" I asked and helped him stuff our few belongings back into the duffel bags.

"I don't know but we have to get the hell out of here." He said and headed towards the door. "I know it's late but hopefully if we leave here, we'll figure something out."

"What can we possibly do this late at night?" I asked and he turned to glare at me.

"Shit Bella, I don't know what the fuck to do alright? You said if we do nothing then the prick will only get stronger! I'm fucking confused as hell and I may just be going out of my mind with all this crazy shit. Brady wants you fucking dead and he won't stop until you are, so forgive me for wanting to get you the hell out of here!" He shouted and turned back to the door. He stormed out and went to the car. I followed him silently and got in the car just in time to see him throw in our bags and slam the door.

He went to sign us out of the motel and came back to the car. He put the car in drive and sped onto the street. We sat in silence for what seemed like ages and I was beginning to feel very uncomfortable. "I'm sorry for dragging you into this whole mess." I said apologetically and he exhaled loudly.

He then growled and repeatedly slammed his hands onto the steering wheel. "Fuck!" he shouted angrily. "Fuck, fuck, fuck!" he baled up his fists and slammed them into the steering wheel. The car swerved a little but he got it back under control in no time.

He slowed the car down a little and reached his right hand out to pull me close. "You don't have anything to be sorry about, I'm the one who should be sorry. This shit is terrifying you and I should be going off on you like that. You didn't drag me into this, my mother did." He said kind of bitterly and kissed the top of my head.

I sighed and leaned into him for a second then I pulled away and gave him space to drive. "Take us to the airport." I said. "Charlie and everyone else are less likely to look for us this late at night." I said and nodded.

"We'll try to get the first flight to Phoenix, but until then, we'll have to lay low and keep our eyes open." He said and I nodded. I fell asleep and Edward woke me up when we got to the airport. "The only flight to Phoenix had been delayed and wouldn't take off till tomorrow afternoon." Edward said angrily. "We're fucking screwed."

"Hey." I said, running my fingers through his silky bronze hair. "Let's check in somewhere for the night and catch the flight tomorrow. Let's not get angry over what we can't change ok?" He nodded and I held his hand and led him back to the car. We checked into a hotel not too far from the airport and settled in.

"I'm going to take a piss." Edward said with a grin and I threw a pillow at him but missed.

I lied back on the bed and closed my eyes to let my mind rest. I regret doing that because as soon as my eyes closed, I was sucked into a series of flashbacks from previous nightmares. I tried to open my eyes but I couldn't.

"Why won't you help us Bella? You promised you'd come back. Why didn't you come back?" Children's voices yelled around me. "You said I would be okay Bella. You promised." The little voices were coming from everywhere yet nowhere. I shrieked and sat up just as my eyes flew open.

Edward was at my side in an instant. "What's wrong?"

"Voices. I heard them everywhere. They're angry. I didn't save them Edward, I didn't save them and now they're dead." I sobbed and Edward held me. I pushed him away and stumbled off the bed. My mind was spinning and I could barely breathe; the room was closing in on me.

I hunched over and sucked in a huge gulp of air as my body started to shake alarmingly. I began to feel very nauseous and my eyes started to burn from unshed tears. I shook a few moments longer then my legs gave out. Edward caught me just as I was about to hit the floor.

"Hey! Hey! Come on Bella, you're okay. Come on, open your eyes." He said and shook me gently.

"Why is this happening to me Edward? What did I do to deserve this?" I mumbled as hot tears fell from my eyes and rolled down my face.

"I don't know, Bella." He replied, with his jaw set. "But what I do know is that we have to get the hell out of here. The sooner we leave Washington, the closer we'll be to figuring out what the hell is going on; then maybe we can get you somewhere safe where Brady can't get to you."

"Don't you get it?" I yelled and threw my hands up. "He'll find me no matter where I go. I can't outrun him and I definitely can't hide from him." I was beyond angry because none of this was making any sense, none of it was fare. "He'll find me no matter what and kill me, and then he'll kill you! You should just leave while you still have a chance to walk away from all of this!" I yelled and began to cry again. "Leave before he kills you Edward." I finished with a soft sigh and a swollen face.

Edward exhaled loudly and pulled me to his chest. "And what? Leave you to fend for yourself? I'm not going anywhere. I'll die before I let him take you." He said evenly and squeezed me tighter. "I swear we'll figure this whole mess out and somehow stop Brady." His voice was full of hope, hope that would most likely not get us anywhere, but hope nonetheless. We sat there; hugging each other for a while longer, then Edward stood up and helped me up.

"Let's shower and get to bed." He said and pulled me towards the bathroom. Edward brushed his teeth and washed his face while I showered and I brushed my teeth and washed my face while he showered. I dried off and dressed in a hurry, I didn't want Edward to see me naked . . . or maybe I did. As I sat on the bed, brushing my hair, I thought of the relationship Emmett and I were developing before all this shit hit the fan. A few tears escaped my eyes. The possibility of never seeing Emmett again hurt a lot and frankly scared the living hell out of me. My heart felt as if it were being stomped on.

"What's wrong?" Edward asked, drying his hair with a towel.

"I miss Emmett so much. What if I never see him again? Edward, we might lose our lives trying to destroy this psychopath." I cried and threw the hairbrush against the wall. Edward picked up the brush and sat next to me on the bed.

"I won't let anything happen to you. You'll see Emmett again, I promise." Edward hugged me and I closed my eyes and let my breathing calm. When his breathing settled down, I could hear his heart hammering in his chest. I shifted a little in his lap and he groaned.

"Don't do that." He hissed and I looked up into his eyes.

"And why not?" I asked. He didn't give an answer to my question so I asked again, shifting in his lap once more. "Why?" Instead of answering, he pushed me down on the bed and ran his hand up my thigh. I practically jumped out of my skin when I felt his hands on me. He grabbed my hand and brought it up to his crotch. I squeaked and shivered when I felt his hard on. When my hand twitched, he moaned and his arousal sent my heart racing.

"See what you do to me? Just the sound of your voice gets me rock hard." He said huskily and got on top of me. I began to push away but his arms went around me and I couldn't break free. "You smell so good." He whispered, his nose barely grazing my hair.

"We shouldn't do this." I said and he chuckled darkly.

"We're not doing anything . . . yet." He finished, with a sly grin. His hands were cold and felt great against my hot, clammy skin. He pushed his lips to my ear and whispered, "You don't know half the thing I want to do to you right now."

I felt the very tip of his tongue, wet and warm, touch my ear. "Do you want me as much as I want you right now Bella?" The part of me that had been screaming for Emmett a while ago was quickly silenced when Edward bit the side of my neck. Thant simple act blew my hormones through the roof.

"Do you?" He asked again and I nodded. Edward moved his face to mine and bit my lip seductively.

"Don't tease me Edward." I growled and pushed him back onto the bed.

"You are pretty bossy when you're horny." He chuckled. I tore his shirt open so fast; a few buttons flew across the room. His tan skin had a light glow to it that made it all the more appealing. I leaned in and began to kiss his chest. When my lips made contact with his skin, his back arched off the bed and he let out an animalistic growl. I licked and bit my way down his chest while he squirmed under me.

"Quit moving around so much!" I complained and he groaned.

"I'm very ticklish." He said with a shrug. I quickly pushed my hand into his boxers and rubbed his stiff cock.

"How about i tickle you somewhere else." I said and he moaned. His dick got impossibly harder.

He sat up a little and ran his hands through my hair. "We should go to sleep." He whispered.

"We will . . . right after we finish." I purred and yanked my hand out of his boxers.

"We can't have sex Bella." He said and began to adjust his clothes.

"I know." I said, pulling his shorts and boxers down slightly. "But don't you want me to take care of that for you?" I whispered and licked the pre cum off his hard-on. He swallowed hard and looked at me, then he closed his eyes tight and shook his head.

"I'll have another shower and take care of it."

"Why won't you let me do it?"

"Because you love Emmett and you're scared and frustrated and you thing release with me will be like it is with Emmett." He said and pulled his pants up.

* * *

A/N: Okay, that should hold you guys over for a day or two. Review and tell me whether Edward should give in and let Bella give him a a blow job, which will lead to steamy lemons, or turn her down. The more review, the better the outcome of the next chapter.


	17. Chapter 17

**Last chap Recap:**"Why won't you let me do it?"

"Because you love Emmett and you're scared and frustrated and you think release with me will be like it is with Emmett." He said and pulled his pants up.

Chapter 17

I was pissed, embarrassed and frustrated all at the same time. He had no right to lead me on if he intended on not following through. I began to glare at him as he got off the bed, but he turned away from me and went straight to the bathroom. A few seconds later, the shower went on. I slipped out of my clothes and pulled on my bathrobe. I lied down on my stomach and tried to sleep but that didn't work. I tossed and turned several times before getting up and walking out of the motel.

There was a guy, smoking out in the parking lot that eyed me, my bathrobe and slippers as if he'd never seen someone go out in public looking like that. I continued walking till I made it to the tiny office that held the front desk. The man at the desk was quietly sipping coffee and reading a book. However, when he looked up and took in my appearance, he choked a little on his coffee.

"Uhh, can I help you?" He asked, looking me up and down again, as if to make sure he hadn't imagined my outfit.

"Can I borrow the phone for a second? I just need to make a quick call." I asked, my voice sounding tired and whiny.

"What's wrong with the one in your room?" He asked a bit accusingly, probably thinking I had done something to the phone.

"It works just fine, but I don't want my roommate to know I'm making this call so can I just use the phone?" I nearly snapped.

"Yeah, sure." He said. He took in my frizzy and tangled hair; my (almost) sex hair and led me over to the phone. I punched in Emmett's number, having no idea what time it was in Washington, and held my breath. The phone rang twice and I thought of hanging up. When someone picked up on the other line, my breath hitched. Part of me hoped it wasn't Emmett that picked up, even though the chances of someone else picking up _his_ cell phone were highly unlikely. "Hello?" His sleepy voice mumbled into the phone. I continued holding my breath, contemplating hanging up the phone.

"Hello?" He asked again, this time sounding less sleepy. Tears rolled down my face and I released the breath I was holding. Tiny whimpers escaped my mouth but I didn't think he'd heard. "Bella? Bella, is it you?" He nearly shouted into the phone.

"Hi, I'm sorry for waking you up." I Whispered.

"Baby! Where are you? Are you okay? God, I miss you so much!" Now how was full on shouting. And he called me baby. Knowing that he cared so much lifted my spirits way high but I felt even worse for what happened with Edward.

"I can't tell you where I am, but I'm okay. I'm with Edward and he's been looking out for me. I miss you too Emmett." Tears were now flooding my face.

"Please come home. Everyone misses you so much and your dad….he's going crazy with worry. He and your mom really miss you." I cringed a little when he said 'your mom' and I almost said that I didn't have a mother.

"Emmett I can't, not yet. I have to figure out everything that's been happening lately." I said, hoping he'd understand.

"Forget about all that, please. I want nothing more than to see you again Bella."

"Emmett I want to see you too but everything that's happened so far isn't normal, there's something supernatural going on and I have to find out what it is and why it's happening to me."

"Then tell me where you are and I'll come to you."

"I can't. Emmett, I can't bring you into this mess, I just can't. I'm sorry." I whispered. I prayed with every little piece of me that he wouldn't get mad and that he'd understand.

"I love you and I want to be there to help you and you won't let me, yet you can allow Edward to help you?" He was angry, so much for my praying. "So what, does he love you? Do you love him?"

"Emmett, it's not like that. I really like Edward but I don't love him, I love you. And because I love you, I can't let you come into this mess. Edward was a part of this whole mess from the beginning and he has a right to find the truth too."

"You _do_ love him."

"What? Emmett . . . I . . . You don't understand."

"You're sticking up for him. When this whole thing started, I tried to help you, I really did. And for a while I think you wanted me to help you, but as soon as Edward opened his arms to you, you ran to him instead. You ran to him and chose him instead of me." He said, his voice breaking and my heart breaking right along with it.

I had no idea what to say. I opened and closed my mouth several times then paled at the words that finally fell through my lips. "I kissed him."

"Is that all?" He asked, his voice still breaking.

"No."

"You slept with him didn't you?" His anger flared up before I could even register his question.

"Not quite."

"Bye Bella." He whispered and my heart skipped a beat.

"Emmett please don't—"

"What do you want me to say Bella? You say you miss me but you won't let me come see you, you say you love me then tell me you slept with Edward."

"I didn't have sex with him and I do love you. I'm just stressed and confused, I don't know what I want." I began bawling like a baby.

"Bella I love you and I have no intension whatsoever of sharing you; not with Edward, not with anyone! I want to be with you and I want for you to want to be with me. So you take the time you need to figure out what you want and get unconfused, because when you get back I want an answer! I don't want to be in a relationship with you until you _know_ for sure that you _want_ to be with me. I love you, but like I said before, I won't share you. Alright?" I nodded even though I knew he couldn't see me.

"Okay." I said and wiped the tears off my face. He was quiet for a long time and so was I. "I swear if Edward wasn't involved in this from the beginning, he wouldn't be here." I said, breaking the silence.

"I know. I guess I'm just jealous that he can be there for you and I can't." He replied. "Be careful Bella. Okay?" He added as an afterthought.

"Okay, I will. I don't know when I'll be able to call you again but I'll try to call you soon."

"Alright."

"Please tell Alice I said hi and tell Charlie that I'm okay."

"I will. I'm not kidding Bella, be careful . . . I don't want to lose you."

"Okay, thanks. Bye Emmett." I could feel the tears falling.

"Bye." The line went dead after that. I kept the phone to my ear for at least another five minutes, then hung up and pulled myself together. I thanked the man at the front desk and made my way back to the room.

"Where the hell were you? Do you know crazy I went looking for you? You can't fucking take off and not say anything!" Edward shouted the second I walked into the room. I ignored him and went straight to my bed. "Are you listening to me? Is this all a game to you?" He continued talking so I tuned him out. I got into bed and rolled up into the sheets. I yawned a couple times and Edward's voice began to sound distant. I clicked off the lamp near my bed and closed my eyes. Edward's voice grew more and more distant as I fell asleep.

When I woke up in the morning, Edward wasn't in the room so I took a shower and began going through some of the papers we found at Renee's house. I read through every paper at least four times but I found no new information, only stuff I already knew. It's as if the big picture was right there in front of me but I kept missing it. Just as I was beginning to give up hope, a folded sticky note caught my attention. I unfolded it and looked it over.

'Let me know if you need someone to look after Bella during the day. –Rita'

"Who is Rita?" I whispered to myself. I shut my eyes and tried to remember if I knew anyone named Rita. Think Bella, think. Rita….Rita….Rita. "Who the hell is Rita?" I threw the note down in frustration.

"Easy there tiger." Edward said and I nearly jumped out of my skin.

"Are you trying to give me a heart attack? Why would you sneak up on me like that?"

"Consider it payback for sneaking off last night then falling asleep when I was talking to you. I brought you coffee and an egg & cheese sandwich." He said, handing me the coffee and sandwich. "I need to take a piss." He announced and went to the bathroom.

"Thanks for sharing your need to pee." I ate and waited for him to return. "I read through all this junk and I can't find any new information." I said as Edward walked out of the bathroom.

"Read it again." He said, making himself comfortable in his bed and turning on the tv.

"Why don't you read it?" I snapped and he shrugged. "All the new information I found is Rita and I don't know who the hell she is." I threw my hands over my face in frustration.

"Rita Spellman is our old babysitter and she lives in Glendale." Edward said nonchalantly, not even looking in my direction.

"What? How do you know that?"

"I remember her. I say we get the hell out of here and go pay her a visit." He turned off the tv and we left right after packing our stuff. We pulled up to a house that looked somewhat familiar to me. "Well, this is the moment of truth." Edward sighed heavily. He tried to look cool and collected but I saw right through him; he was terrified of what we would find out.

"It's okay to be scared you know." I said, reaching over to hold his hand.

"Who says I'm scared?" He snapped.

"Edward it's okay. What we find out will change everything for us. I know for a fact that we won't like what we hear; all the more reason for us to stick together. As of right now, we've got no one to turn to; we only have each other so don't try to shut me out." I am by no means good at pep talks but I think that went well.

He nodded and took a deep breath. "Okay." He said and got out of the car. I grabbed my messenger bag and followed him. There was an eerie chill in the air as we walked up the porch. A light breeze passed through and the wind chimes on the porch began dancing back and forth, creating a creepy little melody.

There was a loud crash, from nowhere in particular, that scared the living hell out of me. The wind blew again and the wind chimes again created that creepy melody. Clouds began to fill the sky, casting shadows on the ground for a few seconds then quickly blocking the sunlight. I looked over at Edward and he shrugged. After a minute or two, the sun was barely visible and I could hear thunder beginning to roar in the distance. Edward squinted up at the sky, trying to figure out what was going on. The wind grew stronger, shaking tress left and right and blowing dead leaves all over the place. Tiny raindrops began to fall as the thunder grew louder and began to echo. Before long, lighting was flashing, thunder was booming and the wind was whipping and howling. Edward took hold of my hand and leaned towards me.

"You think Brady is doing all this?" He yelled over the thunder.

I thought about it for a second then nodded. "Yes! And I also think he's getting stronger and planning to make good on his promise to exterminate me!" I yelled back as the wind whipped my hair back and forth.

Edward looked into my eyes for a long moment then looked up at the sky. "If he's getting strong then we have to get stronger. We have to figure out a way to stay ahead of him or I don't think we'll survive long enough to take him out!" He yelled and looked back down at me.

"I don't know if we _can_ take him out." I wasn't all that sure that we could get stronger than him.

"Bella, we just have to outsmart him. We need to figure out these mind tricks he's playing with you and beat him at his own game." He said, sounding almost optimistic. Before I could say anything, he squeezed my hand once and led me up to Rita's door. He rang the doorbell twice and we waited for a reply. The locks clicked and the door opened, revealing a guy who looked just a few years older than us.

"Hi, I'm Bella and this is Edward. We're looking for Rita Spellman." I said, putting forth the best smile I could muster.

"Can I ask why you want to see her?" The man said, opening the screen door.

"We have some very important questions to ask her." I said, already beginning to lose my patience with this guy.

"How do you know her?" He asked.

"Look, she was our fucking babysitter and like Bella said, we have some fucking important _life or death_ questions to ask her! So quit wasting our fucking time and tell us, is she home or isn't she?" Edward's face was heating up with anger.

The guy glared at Edward for a few seconds then opened his mouth to speak.

"If you ask us one more goddamn question, I'll wring your fucking neck!" Edward warned, looking as deadly as ever. The guy closed his mouth and glared again.

"Anthony Mason, you close that filthy mouth of yours this instant!" Came an older woman's somewhat raspy voice. Edward immediately paled and his eyes went big. "Step aside and let them in Bernard." The guy at the door glared for a second more, then moved over to let us in. We walked inside and a woman who looked to be in her late forties waved at us as she walked down the stairs.

'Bernard' slammed the door shut and walked away, mumbling profanities as he left.

"Mrs. Spellman?" I asked, a little unsure. She smiled, her eyes getting watery and her cheeks flushing pink.

"Isabella darling is that you?" She pulled me close and held my face in her warm hands. "Oh heavens, I haven't seen you in over ten years!" She exclaimed with a heavy British accent. She pulled me into a bone crushing hug then turned to Edward. "And you Anthony, I always assumed you'd grow out of your filthy mouth." Edward blushed and she hugged him too. "What brings you two here?" She finally asked.

"We have lots of questions to ask you." I said, fidgeting a little, hoping that she'd be able to give us some information.

"And I have many answers to give you darling." She smiled, placing one warm hand on my back and the other on Edward's back. "Come, I'll put on some tea then we'll talk." She smiled, leading us down the hall and into her living room. "Stay put my darlings, I'll be back in a jiffy." She ushered us to the couch then was off to the kitchen.

"This place looks so familiar." Edward whispered.

"I know! I feel like I was in this very living room just yesterday." I whispered back. I got up and walked around the living room, trying to see if I could remember anything. I walked over to the fireplace and looked down at the three Christmas stockings hanging there. The one on the left looked extremely soft so I reached out and touched it. As soon as I touched it, old memories flashed through my head.

Three little kids running circles around a tall Christmas tree. So many Christmas presents littered the floor, the carpet underneath was barely visible. "All right my loves, are you ready for your hot chocolate?" A Pretty blonde woman in her early thirties entered the living room, carrying a tray with four steaming mugs of hot chocolate. She handed the mugs to the children when they settled down. "I want a sip of yours Anthony." The little girl pleaded.

"No Bella, you have your own!" Anthony shouted.

"You're a big meanie! I don't like you anymore!" The little girl yelled, tears welling up in her big brown eyes.

"There's no need for tears my love. You can have a sip of Aunt Rita's coacoa."

I shuddered and put the stocking back where it was. When I returned to the couch, Edward gave me a questioning look. "I saw us." I whispered and his face went sour.

"Of course you see us, we're sitting right here."

"No! I saw us as kids . . . In this living room. You, me and another little boy were playing and Rita gave us hot chocolate. She referred to herself as 'Aunt Rita' Edward!" I whispered a bit too loud.

"She's your aunt?" Edward asked.

"No! Well . . . I don't know. For all I know, she could be _your_ aunt." Edward rubbed his face a few times and sighed.

"I guess we'll just have to ask her." He whispered and leaned back on the couch.

Rita walked into the living room with the same tray as before, but this time with three empty cups and a pot of tea. She set the tray on the table, served us then took a seat on the loveseat across from me and Edward.

"How are you? You two look as if you haven't had a wink of sleep." She addressed us both, sipping her tea.

"We're fine." I lied.

"No we most certainly are not fine. Some lunatic ghost is out to kill us and I'm more than certain that our parents are still trying to hunt us down." Edward growled and shot me daggers for lying. Rita's face showed fear for a second then changed to worry.

"What on earth are you talking about?" She asked, worry obvious in her voice. I took a deep breath and told her about everything. The nightmares, Renee, running away from home, everything.

"And I think a man named Thomas Brady is responsible for it all, even the storm outside." I finished. The cup of tea she was holding fell from her hands and she gasped.

"Oh dear, what storm?" She exclaimed and got up to go look out the window. She gasped and brought her hands up to her face. "Oh heavens, I haven't seen a storm like this since the day Mr. Brady disappeared."

Edward gave me a weary look. "The storm must be Brady's doing." He said to me then turned back to Rita. "Tell us everything you know about Brady and what he did to us." His voice was hard, his eyes were icy cold and his jaw was set. No matter what we find out from this point on, there's no turning back.


End file.
